You Don't Own Me
by s.e tudor
Summary: Christine Meets Erik in their last semester of College at Harvard; Erik studying to be a businessman and Christine Studying to be a marine biologist with intentions of saving the oceans precious sharks. They share a magical night together resulting in a baby. Out of panic Erik leaves and they dont see each other until... E/C
1. Harvard, 2008

_Spring, 2008_

"I do hope that you all took the time to read your syllabus, for the class." The professor cleared his throat and threw his briefcase on his desk "however I made a slight change to it. The project you were to do for the end of the semester is now to be done in groups of two." He opened his brief case and took the time to study him intently, he was wearing a white button up top, his famous tweed jacket with the brown elbow patches, a pair of khakis and brown shoes. His salt and pepper hair was messy and his rectangular glasses were perched on his nose. "I know that this is the beginning of the spring semester, most of you don't have much longer until you finish your schooling." He cleared his throat "So with that being said I took empathy on you with the project." He lifted a piece of paper out of his brief case "and I took the liberty to pick out your partners for you; which you'll keep for the rest of the semester." He smiled slightly as groans filled the room.

I let my eyes scan the lecture hall, who did I want as a partner? I spent most of my college career with half of the people in this class; they were future biologists as well. I eyed a little blond haired girl, Megan Giry, I had roomed with her for three out of the four years I was at Harvard. She was a nice girl, she was bubbly and polite, a girl who had ambitions to be a librarian when she was younger but now was determined to do something in pharmasuticales. I had also considered her my best friend. She smiled at me and widened her eyes slightly, I assumed that she was nervous about the partners. I gave her a reassuring smile and let my eyes scan around the room, resting on a blond haired boy—Raoul. He looked back at me and grinned, showing his bright white teeth, he was handsome enough, a bright young man from somewhere in Europe, but he wasn't for me and although I said no to his offers plenty of times, he kept at it.

And then there was him.

He was a tall man with a Ryan Reynolds hair cut, black hair and the most fabulous green eyes. He had been in my ecology class during fall semester and it was there that I had learned he transferred from Cornell University to finish his business degree at Harvard. Ever since he made his presence known to the lovely ladies of Harvard he had been known as the Greek god, at least to Meg and I... even if he was the furthest thing from Greek.

"Holloway, Erik will be paired up with Daae, Christine." My eyes shot away from Greek god and to the professor who looked more annoyed than he did when he first entered the room "Miss Daae, please stand so Mr. Holloway can find you." I nodded but even the professor probably didn't know who I was, it was a large class of five hundred and there was no way that he'd know who I was.

I slowly stood up, and searched the room. Most people were on their iphones or their laptops; I wondered slightly if this Erik Holloway was even paying attention.

And then _he _stood up. My stomach lurched and I swear my heart stopped. The Greek God had a name, The Greek God had a partner… me! He gave me a small smile as he picked up his bookbag and made his way towards me. He was dressed in dark wash jeans, a light blue button up shirt and a dark blue blazer. He looked better than I did that's for sure. I gave him a slight smile back and noticed a bit of stubble was still on his face, it was a eight in the morning class, and perhaps he forgot to shave, either way it looked good on Greek God.

"Hey" He said as he stopped in front of me. It was then I realized that he had a khaki messenger bag draped across his chest and his Ryan Reynolds hair cut was tossled, it made him look even more desirable than last semester.

"Hi." I squeaked "Christine" I held out my hand and he took it, it was large compaired to mine but strong and warm "I read the Syllabus before we even got it," I flushed slightly "I already chose a topic to debate about."

He raised his eyebrow in intrigue, exposing his wonderful green eyes "Oh yeah?" he placed his thumb under his chin and rested the other fingers on the top "enlighten me." He grinned slightly, his eyes sparkling.

"Well…" I swallowed and sat down in the seat I was previously occupying, tucking my skirt under me "There is this super large company here in Massachusetts – Gregory Bottling Company that claim to be environmentally conscious, well they aren't." I let my eyes flicker back and forth between his and the professor who was still idly calling out names "I recently learned that they dabble in the Finning business." I watched his amused face turn to confusion "Finning." I said again but his expression didn't change "er-" I cleared my throat and played with the ends of my skirt "shark Finning is where they catch sharks in the middle of the ocean, shave off their fins and then throw them back into the ocean alive, just like they were trash." I looked down at the top of the desk "It's tragic really, the shark population has dropped 90% since the fifties." I looked at him and wrung my hands, he sat silent for a moment "Well… what do you think?" I questioned biting on my bottom lip.

He stroked the stubble on his chin and looked at me "well, I think, Miss Daae, that you and I are going to have a spectacular presentation." He pulled his messenger bag over his body and set it on the floor, I watched him intently "I think I can get an interview with the Bottling Company" he paused "My father is pretty close to the CEO." He ran a hand through his hair and gave me a lopsided grin, and just like the other girls around me, I melted into a large puddle.

I cleared my throat and smiled slightly looking down at the stairs "Um.. that would be great!" I smiled slightly and looked up at him "Really, really great!" I leaned in "do you have any ideas?"

He shook his head "No, your idea sounds pretty solid." He nodded and leaned in as well "since we are going to be partners for the rest of the semester, we should get to know each other better, yes?" he quirked an eye brow and I nodded "Good, how about coffee later? There's a great little coffee place…" he snapped his fingers "it's called the bean." He chuckled "it's not much of an original name."

I laughed slightly and looked at him "Tell me about it," I leaned in a bit further "I have to say it every time someone walks in 'welcome to the bean, have a great day thank you for visiting the bean' oh it's annoying!" I laughed.

He chuckled slightly "Well then, Pardon me."

I laughed and looked at him "oh, it's fine. It really is the most boring name on the face of the planet." I smiled and rested my chin on my hand "so… coffee… tonight?" he nodded "What time?"

I met Erik at the bean around 7:30, it had been one of the best times I had in a while. After the bean had closed down, Erik and I decided to take a walk, where he had told me about his upbringing in Connecticut, to a rich father, a trophy wife mother and two siblings who moved to Ireland and Germany. He told me that he was majoring in business and was taking speech to become a better public speaker. I had told him about my own upbringing in Maine to a fisherman father and a seamstress mother with a older brother who was currently in the Army and stationed overseas. He was interested in my major and what it had to do with speech class. I fortunately was taking it as a few extra credits to make my middle class parents proud.

Before we both knew it, the bean had closed and we were walking along the street.

"So…" I sipped at the last of my coffee "if we are to be partners…" I shrugged slightly, I was bad at this whole game.

"I'll need your number, of course." He looked at me and winked, it seemed as if he was reading my mind "certainly." He looked down at me and held out his hand, for a second I thought he wanted my hand "phone?" he questioned.

I laughed slightly and blushed "Yes… of course." I fished my phone out of my pocket, and handed him my RAZR and he handed me his iPhone. I flushed slightly and looked at the buttonless screen "How…" I swallowed hard "how do you work this?" I laughed slightly.

He chuckled, oh how I could listen to him laugh all day "Well, tap the contact button." He said while tapping furiously away on my phone "then there should be a tiny plus sign in the right hand corner" I nodded "Tap that and insert your name and phone number. Simple." He said as my phone snapped shut.

I laughed slightly and looked at him "Simple for you, perhaps" I laughed and handed him back the phone "fancy." I whistled.

He shook his head "not really." He put his phone into his pocket and handed mine back to me. "It's getting pretty late huh?" He questioned and rubbed the back of his neck. I nodded in agreement "I could walk you home, if you'd like… that is."

I smiled and nodded "Sure, it's just three blocks south." I looked away shyly and smiled to the concrete. Greek God was my partner in speech, bought my coffee and decided to walk me home. Five minutes later, we made it to the stoop of the apartment I had shared with Meg. It was a small townhouse, with a brilliant red front, a white door and a window box for flowers "Well…" I stopped at the stoop "Here's home." I shrugged slightly, holding my purse with two hands in front of me.

"Yeah…" he rubbed the back of his neck again "Have a good night, Christine…"

I chewed on my bottom lip and nodded "you too… I'll see you in class… yes?" I looked at him before looking away quickly, a blush coming to my face.

He nodded "Yes, of course…" he gave me a lopsided smile and started to walk away. I watched him reach the lamp post before he sauntered back, his hand hanging on the back of his neck in a way that reminded me of Prince Eric from the little mermaid "Actually, no…" I looked at him perplexed "I don't want to see you in class… once a week. I'd like to take you out… on a date."

_

"Erik…." I whispered as his sweaty body laid on top of my equally sweaty body, my fingers gently stroking up and down his back, making invisible circles. I swallowed hard and freed one of my hands from his back and pushed strands of hair off my sweaty forehead

"Christine…" He looked down at me and rolled next to me, stroking my hair gently "you've never looked more beautiful than you do right now." He placed a small kiss on my lips, trailing down to my neck and in between my breasts.

I moaned softly and grabbed his head gently pushing him away "Erik… we have to finish our presentation. We won't get anywhere doing this…" I let my eyes gaze into his, how green they were, how beautiful my Greek God was.

He chuckled and leaned in kissing me, tucking a piece of my chocolate brown hair behind my ear "Well, that can wait!" He rolled back on top, and soon our project was forgotten once again.

_

"Okay, next up for the final presentations of the semester…." The professor looked down at his notes "Christine Daae and Erik Holloway…" he looked around and smiled as the pair of us stood up. I looked up at Erik who gave my hand a squeeze of encouragement before we walked up to face the class of five hundred.

"Well…" I cleared my throat and laughed a nervous laugh "We did our project on the Finning of sharks and how dangerous it has become." I clasped my hands in front of me "You might be asking yourself what Shark Finning is." I looked up at Erik who gave me his signature crooked smile and then looked back at the class "Well, it's the practice of removing the fins of sharks, for human use. Normally after the Finning has occurred the fisherman throw the body of the shark back into the ocean- alive where it will drown or be eaten alive by other sharks." I pointed to the large screen behind Erik and I "Shark Finning takes place at sea, where the body would be easily discarded as their meat is of low value and practically worthless and it wouldn't be worth the cost to transport the bodies back to shore."

Erik nodded "It also doesn't matter what the species, the age of the, the weight or even the size of the shark is. If a shark is caught, it's going to be finned. They catch the sharks via long lining, they are the most signifigant cause of loss among the shark populations worldwide." He clasped his hands together behind his back.

I nodded and cleared my throat again "Unfortunately shark finning has increased over the past decade due to the increasing demand for the fins, improved fishing technology and improved and experts estimate that over one hundred million sharks are slaughtered annually for their fins alone."

The rest of the presentation went off without a hitch.

_

"Christine…" Erik's eyes lit up with excitement as he drug me through his apartment and into the kitchen "I have a surprise graduation gift for you." He placed me down at the tiny table, where a white box laid "I wanted to give it to you before graduation, but I figured it wouldn't be appropriate…" he looked at me, his eyes wide with boyish charm "Go ahead open it."

I looked at him and laughed slightly, nervousness taking over "I have a surprise for you too… but it doesn't come in a box." I inhaled slightly and opened the box, where a brand new iphone rested among robin's egg blue tissue paper "An iphone?" I looked up at him.

He nodded "Yeah, I figured you needed one, You know, since you didn't know how to work mine." He rubbed the back of his neck.

I smiled slightly, tears stinging at my eyes "Oh Erik!" I wrapped my arms around him and wiped my eyes quickly "Erik…" I pulled away from him and grabbed his hands "I love you, you know that right?"

He cocked his head to one side and nodded "of course, I love you too."

I smiled slightly and looked down "I know your father doesn't approve of me and my 'hippie ways' but…" I swallowed hard and looked at him "but I want to spend the rest of my life with you and…." I closed my eyes "Erik…" why was this so hard to say "Erik, I'm pregnant."


	2. Present day, 2012

_Present day_

"Christine!" I turned around to look at the noise and smiled at the young red head that was bounding towards me, her arms over filled with files "Christine!" She called as she caught up to me "I got a call for you today, Belfast area Senior High school wants to do a piece on The aquarium and they one to do a piece on you too, on your efforts to save the sharks." She pushed her glasses up on her face and smiled at me "Also, You have a two o'clock meeting with the director of the zoo, for the merger and…" she handed me something from behind her back "Something for Emma."

I looked at her and grabbed the tiny package "Oh, Clare!" I gave her a one armed hug and took some of the folders off her hands "You didn't have to." I smiled and made my way into my office "Tell the High school to send over whomever they want for the piece about the aquarium and about me. I don't know why they'd want an interview with me, I'm the most boring person on the face of this earth" I laughed slightly and dropped the folders on my desk, placing Emma's present gently in a drawer "secondly." I sat down and motioned for Clare to sit down as well "Cancel the two o'clock meeting." I leaned in and let my eyes dance with excitement "There is a open meeting thing with this company E.H Enterprises Inc. I heard they were really big on Shark Finning." I leaned back and let my hands rest on my thighs "so I'm going there later to ask them about it, what their viewpoint on the whole thing is and if they are really in the business." I eyed her "I took down the bottling company, yet somehow their ex-CEO is still operating, someway somehow and I believe it's through E.H Enterprises." I blinked slowly and she nodded, and started writing something in a notepad I didn't even know she had. "Thirdly, you didn't have to get anything for Emma!"

Clare laughed slightly and shook her head "of course I had to get something for Miss. Emma Jane! She's turning three, it's not every day that your own daughter turns three, Christine." She smiled slightly "As for the piece about you, you're more interesting! You single handedly took down the company, while pregnant! Who else could do that?" she chuckled "your two o'clock meeting, considered it cancelled and I can arrange a car to take you to the press conference of E.H Enterprises Inc. It's on the other side of town and-"

"Clare, I can drive myself." I laughed slightly and leaned in "I'm perfectly capable of driving, I just got promoted to President, I don't want to abuse the privileges that come with it." I adjusted the picture of my daughter on my desk "except for shorter work days…" I smiled at the little brunette girl with stunning green eyes, a cute button nose and bowtie lips. "Speaking of which!" I looked away from the picture "I'm arranging a trip to South Africa in a few months; it will be a great learning experience for the rest of the team, and a chance to see the great white's jump!" I clasped my hands together excitedly "Also, I was looking at branching the aquarium out, starting a conservation for sharks and other oceanic creatures, as well as a rehabilitation center." I smiled and crossed my legs "talking it over with Mr. Humphreys later this week about it, so far he seems to be on board, at least by the emails." I laughed.

Clare laughed and pushed a trendle of her red hair out of her face; her hair seemed to roll down her back in tight curls, her eyes were large and as green as the hills of Ireland. Her nose was tiny and she resembled the newest Disney heroine; except with glasses. "Well, Christine," she stood up "Do you need anything?"

I looked around my desk and shook my head "No, I don't think so. Thank you, Clare. I'll be leaving around noon, the meeting takes place in Augusta, lord knows how the traffic is from here and I need to be back at five for Emma's birthday party." I smiled and looked at Clare "you're invited, you and Ryan."

Clare smiled "Thanks, Christine, Ryan would love it!"

I smiled and nodded "Excellent. It starts at five thirty" I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the address "it's a waterfront property, a two story house with grey stones on the front of it" I smiled and handed her the piece of paper.

Noon hit quickly, and before I made my way to my car I went to the bathroom and did a quick check in the full length mirror. I wore a charcoal grey pencil skirt, a sleeveless black blouse with frills on the front, Emma had loved it in the store and couldn't stop playing with it, which prompted me to buy it. On my feet were my favorite pair of black Manolo Blahnik Mary Janes. A tiny silver locket decorated my neck with a tiny picture of my daughter hidden inside. I looked at the bracelet that had been 'from' Emma on her first Christmas, since then I never took it off. Satisfied with what was my outfit, I leaned in close to look at the little make up I did put on. I resembled my father very much; I had his wide eyed look, his brown eyes and his chocolate brown hair. My nose and mouth came from my mother and my perfectly straight teeth came after forty-eight months of straight braces. My hair, which cascaded over my shoulders was wavy, I was lucky in the gene pool and didn't get my father's curly hair or my mother's straight hair, I was fine with wavy. I smiled slightly and touched up my mascara before heading out the door and to the Candy apple red Chevy Cruze parked in the president's spot.

I adjusted the mirror slightly as I slid into the driver's side, my eyes focusing on a empty car seat, suddenly feeling homesick. I missed my little girl, who was no doubt enjoying the day with her Uncle Cal, which was a rare treat since he reenlisted in the Army and was gone most of the year. I smiled slightly and pulled out of The Belfast Bay Aquarium parking lot and down the street to the highway.

The drive from Belfast to Augusta was a smooth drive, and I had somehow managed to dodge the rain of March's 'in like a lion' motto. At one in the afternoon I made my way to a tiny eatery in the heart of the city, close to city hall, where the press conference was being held. The CEO of E.H Enterprises Inc. had donated a lot of money to renovate city hall, and the town wanted to thank him. I had other questions for him.

"What can I get for you?" the waitress smiled looking down at me, dressed in a red and white plaid dress with a white apron around her thick waist.

"Um…" I looked up at the waitress "I heard that the New England clam chowder was the best here." I folded up my menu "I'll take a bowl of that, with a small side salad, Italian dressing and water with lemon." I beamed at her and she smiled back, walking away in one quick motion. I let my eyes wander around Mimi's café, the décor was more west coast than east coast, but it was cozy and it was a place I could see myself eating at often, whenever I had business in Augusta.

I watched a parade of people walk in front of the City Hall building, clicking away on their cameras and writing things on their map or pulling out their phones and clicking away with their cell phones camera. I reached for my purse and pulled out my RAZR, flipping it open to a picture of my daughter, My Emma, who looked so much like her daddy. I inhaled slightly and pressed a button putting the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?" A groggy voice came filtered through my ear.

"Are you asleep?" I snapped

"Of course, I am Chris. Em is napping on the couch, she's so full of energy." He groaned and I figured he rubbed his hand down his face, something he was always prone to do when he was tired "Remind me to never, ever, have a child."

I chuckled and rested my head on my left hand "Well, you'll be missing out Cal. They're the greatest." I smiled as the waitress placed the clam chowder in front of me, my salad behind the bowl of chowder.

I could feel his smile over the receiver "So, Mom and dad are taking Em to the park in a few, they left me up to decorate the place." He laughed.

I gasped and scowled at him through the phone "No naked ladies, beer or cigarettes!" I scolded "I remember your eighteenth birthday party. I don't want Emma to experience that so soon." I took a bite of my chowder and swallowed "Actually, I don't want her to experience that ever."

Cal laughed a deep throaty laugh "You were sixteen, what did you know about strippers, booze and cigarettes? All you cared about were those sharks of yours."

I snorted "What do you mean I didn't know anything about strippers booze and cigarettes. Really Cal, it's amazing that mom and dad disowned me first." I prodded playfully.

He snorted with laugher "It really is amazing huh? The protégé daughter, knocked up at twenty-two, by a man who ran off" he finished softly, obviously not kidding anymore. "Have you-"

Suddenly my appetite was lost, I pushed the bowl and salad away and placed my hand on my forehead and shook my head no "No, Cal, I haven't heard anything from him. Nothing." I inhaled sharply "I have been using his last known address; I don't get mail back so it has to be right. I sent him a baby picture of Emma when she was born… I also sent a newer picture to him with an invitation to her birthday party." I shook my head again "I just don't know what to do anymore Cal. I'm so close to giving up looking for him it's ridiculous." I signaled for my check and looked out the window at the building across from me "Emma needs a father, obviously she doesn't need him." I wiped at my eyes with the napkin I was provided and looked down at the table sadly "I mean if someone just runs off without an explanation…"

"Oh Christine…" my brother's voice came softly over the phone "Where are you at now? Mom and dad will gladly take Emma if you need me."

I laughed slightly and wiped at my eyes with the napkin once again "Oh, I'm in Augusta."

"What the hell are you doing in Augusta, Chris?"

"Language!" I scolded and put a twenty down for my five dollar meal and left Mimi's Café "There is this press conference for E.H Enterprises Inc. I heard that they were dabbling in the business of Finning; I also believe that the guy who owned the bottling company is behind it all. I found out he was employed as president of the company, but I'm not entirely sure why."

Cal sighed and I could feel him rub the bridge of his nose "Christine, you're not a reporter; you're a marine biologist with a three year old daughter waiting for you at home. It's not 2008 anymore, you have a fabulous job, a wonderful daughter and a beautiful home and as mother says a fabulous shoe collection." He chuckled slightly.

I smiled and quickly crossed the street "I just want to ask the owner of the company, I'm not going to do anything about it, myself. Might report them to WildAid or something; let them take care of it." I looked at my watch and gasped slightly "Calvin! It's two-ten! I've missed ten minutes of the conference! Bye!" I slapped my RAZR shut, shoved it in my purse and clicked my way into the building and into the room where the press conference was taking place. I silently took a seat in the back, watching the man at the podium.

"We plan to bring City Hall into the twenty first century. Gone are the days of free standing metal detectors and security guards with the wand, we're bringing out the big guns" He smiled, a quarter of it disappearing under the strange white mask. "we brought a prototype here" he motioned to a man standing to the right of him "now, when you enter the building, through the revolving doors" he motioned for the man to walk through the doors "it automatically checks for weapons using INFARED technology." He raised an eyebrow, why was that so familiar? "When you step on the floor of the rotating door it automatically checks for things hidden in the shoe, which one could possibly not see before." He smiled and rested his hands at the end of the podium "we've also brought in new designs." He pointed to a large screen behind him which showed detailed blueprints of the inside of the new city hall.

The mysterious man contuined to talk; talk about the new security camera's he had planned to install and the new features he planned to put into the old building to bring it up to date. I studied him intently, aside from the white mask on the right side of his face, he seemed normal. His hair was styled in the latest men's fashion up do, his jaw was strong with some stubble on it, and his eyes were hidden from how far back I was.

"Well said!" another man took the podium, but the masked man stood firmly by his side "We will take the time now for some questions and answers" he looked around and I quickly held up my hand, my bracelet falling to my elbow "Yes, the tiny hand in the back?" he chuckled.

I stood up and stared directly at the masked man, who seemed to falter a bit "Hi, I'm Christine." I looked around and gave a small wave, I didn't know the etiquette about asking questions "I recently read in a paper that your business was funding the shark Finning business…" I held a hand to my heart but found my necklace and played with it instead "it's something near and dear to my heart and seeing as E.H Enterprises is a large part of this city, I just wanted to say… how dare you? Slaughtering thousands of sharks yearly for a sick and twisted pleasure!"

The masked man leaned in as I sat down and laughed slightly "Someone came to the wrong press conference." He rubbed the back of his neck "Next question?"

"Yes, Erik Holloway Enterprises is the leading manufacturer in the airline industry, why the change to security?"

My mouth went dry, my pulse quickened and my whole body felt like jelly. The man in the mask started talking, but it seemed as I had went deaf. I scrambled for my purse that I had placed by my feet and stood up, practically running out of the building and into the car. Tears spilled out of my eyes as the emotion of the past four years seemed to come to the surface; the joy, the pain and the sorrow seemed to leave red trails down my face. As if on cue the heavens opened up and cried with me.

Erik was here.

**Authors Note:** _Hope you all are enjoying the story so far I'd like to make something clear that Emma was born March 1__st__ meaning Christine was pregnant at the end of May, Roughly. I thought about giving Emma a February birthday but decided against it since my best friend has a February birthday and they seriously are the worst! Lol. This is also the first time I'm writing for Erik like this, so please bear with me I also thank you all so much for the reviews I've received already. _


	3. An Indecent proposal

"Christine!" Clare rushed to me, her eyes wide "there's a man in your office." She followed me closely "I tried to get him to leave, that you wouldn't be in until late today but he stayed adamant and has been sitting patiently in your office for about an hour now!"

I looked at Clare and put a hand on her shoulder "it's okay, it's probably just someone from the school, you know how old children look these days." I chuckled slightly but Clare's alertness didn't waver "look, if it's anyone of a threat I'll page you, okay? We'll use the phrase…" I placed a finger on my chin "The peacock's feathers aren't colorful for females." I looked at her "could you fetch me a tea?"

"Anything else?" she questioned and I shook my head "Okay…" She gave me a nervous smile and walked away, and I watched her. I wasn't sure why, maybe it was because she was so scared of the person in my office and I wanted to keep an eye on her, she was my assistant and the best assistant I had, I didn't want to lose her.

After she was out of sight I clicked my way down the hall and into my office where my heart leapt into my throat. I swallowed hard as to push my heart back down to where it belonged and cleared my throat, erecting my torso and walked past the man sitting at the other side of my desk. I placed a folder down and sat down in m comfy executive office chair "How can I help you today?" I gently folded my hands on top of my desk and crossed my legs under

"You know exactly how you can help me today, Christine" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, resting his left hand on his knee and his right hand on top of that. "that little stunt you pulled yesterday at the press conference was less than…" he thought for a moment "Applicable. It took my team hours to keep it off the news, away from the papers and of course off the radio." He looked at me and gave me one of his famous crooked smiles "so, you owe me."

I felt my stomach knot "excuse me? I owe you nothing."

He laughed slightly and in one swift motion was inches from my face, where his green eyes bore into mine "oh Christine, I think you do." He gave a lopsided smile; the one that I used to love so many years ago, the only thing that really changed was the mask that occupied the right half of his face. "it's a simple payback, Christine." He leaned back into his chair and examined his nails "Marry me."

My stomach dropped and I felt my heart stop "Excuse me?" I must have looked confused, and this must have pleased him immensely "I will do no such thing, Erik!"

He looked at me and smiled and leaned in once again "Oh Christine, believe me, you will. I will ruin you, take down this aquarium, file false reports to every charity you care about and…" he grabbed the silver frame that held a picture of a laughing Emma "Take this precious thing off your hands." His eyes shifted towards me "So, your answer?"

"You wouldn't dare!" I grabbed the picture frame out of his hands and put it in a drawer.

He laughed slightly and nodded "I would, your answer?"

I inhaled and opened the drawer a little bit and looked at Emma "How long do I have to think about it?" I looked up at him, tears stinging the back of my eyes. How could Erik have changed, from the carefree Greek God I knew in College, to a stone cold business CEO in four short years? How could the man I loved unconditionally threaten to take away my Emma?

"I'm not a patient man, Christine. I've already taken time out of my busy schedule to come visit you in person, only to find out that you don't come in until later in the day. Imagine my displeasure in that Christine." He gazed at me and I shifted uncomfortably "So, naturally I'll need your answer as soon as you can give it to me, which should be sooner rather than later Christine because believe me, all I have to do is say the word, your house, your car, your charities, and your daughter will all be gone in the blink of an eye."

I closed my eyes "If I say yes… Emma will be safe and sound with me?" I opened my eyes, staring directly into his.

Erik's face faltered for a second "Emma, that's her name?" I nodded slightly and he regained his composure "Of course, she'll stay with us." I exhaled deeply and nodded slowly "So is that a yes?"

"Yes." I mumbled my eyes fixated on the top of the polished oak desk.

"I'm sorry? I don't believe I heard you."

"Yes." I looked up at him.

He smirked slightly and seemed to relax in his chair "Tomorrow we will move your stuff out of that house of yours, sell most of it, of course, take the girl-"

"Emma." I stared at him

"Take Emma's things with us, naturally." He finished.

I placed a wave behind my ear "You mean I can't keep my house? Or any of my things?" he shook his head "I want my bed; I want to keep my bed."

He nodded "Sounds fair."

"And I want a ring, I at least deserve a ring." I blurted out.

He gave me a lopsided smile, the one that made me fall in love with him four years ago "Naturally. Tomorrow before we go to the courthouse—"

I cocked my head "Tomorrow? What do you mean by 'tomorrow before we go to the courthouse'? Erik I can't get married to you tomorrow! I can't just drop my life and marry you at your convenience! I have literally twenty-five meetings tomorrow…"

He shook his head "Then we shall do everything today."

My stomach twisted in tighter knots "I don't get off until ten…" I whispered.

"Well, Miss Daae, you'll learn to know that I'm a very, persuasive man." He stood up and buttoned the button on his suit jacket "I'll leave my address with the receptionist; I'll see you at ten thirty tonight. All your stuff shall be moved out and Emma's things, your bed and clothes shall be in already." He walked towards the door "Ten thirty Christine, no later."

I nodded slowly and watched him stand up, and slowly stand up with him, a small smirk playing on his lips. I followed him to my office door and extended my hand, which he of course, didn't take. I dropped my hand in defeat and leaned in the doorway "see you at ten thirty." I mumbled.

_

I pulled up to my mother's house at ten-fifteen, a bit later than usual but there had been an accident on the highway. I inhaled and stepped out of the car and walked up to my parent's house, the gravel crunching under the flats I was wearing, Casual Friday was my favorite day of the week and today was no exception. I was in a pair of white skinny jeans, a gray top with frills down the front that stopped at the top of my chest, a yellow cardigan and a thin brown belt while silver bangles decorated my wrists. I ran a hand quickly through my hair and pinched my cheeks for a bit of color. Last time I looked in the mirror I had paled considerably which was something I didn't want my mother to worry about.

I tapped lightly on the door and listened to the shuffle inside; it was the same routine every day, my mother would make my father turn down the TV even though it wasn't that loud to begin with and as she stood up she would clean on her way sweeping invisible dust under the rug. I listened to the clinking of locks being undone and was greeted to my mother's smiling aging face.

"Christine!" she hugged me tightly "There you are! We were so worried! The accident on the highway looked like your car and…" she shook her head quickly "nothing, come in, come in! I know you're in a hurry to get Emma home." She smiled at me and I gave her a tiny smile back "something wrong dear?"

What couldn't have been more wrong at this moment "No, nothing, just tired. It's been a long day mom." I smiled slightly and made my way into the backroom where Emma slept. I looked down at the tiny Disney princess bed that she was laying in and smiled, my precious girl had made the transition from crib to bed a lot easier than I had thought. I kneeled down and lifted her up holding her tight. I checked her GoodNites potty training pull ups and smiled slightly. Dry so far. I smiled and grabbed her overnight bag slinging it over my shoulder and walked back into the living room "how did the potty go today?" I questioned, my voice lower than normal.

"Oh, we had a tiny accident." My mother walked to Emma and rubbed her back "but nothing too big." She smiled and placed a kiss on the top of Emma's head.

I smiled "Well that's great. We've been on big girl panties for about two weeks now, she's learning so fast." I laid my cheek on her head and smiled slightly "Well, I'll bring her back over tomorrow around eight, if that's alright?" I questioned.

My mother nodded and laughed slightly "of course it is, she can come over any time but I thought you had the weekends off? Did that change?"

I laughed slightly "it was Friday today wasn't it?" I gave my mother a one shoulder shrug and kissed her cheek "then I'll see you bright and early on Monday." I walked to the door and opened it quickly walking out. I shrugged the bag off my shoulder and placed it into the trunk before I placed Emma in her pretty pink car seat. After she was strapped in I checked the restraints and gently shut the door before I waved to my mother a goodbye and got into the car and drove off. I pressed play on the cd player and Disney Princess songs floated through the speaker. I looked at the clock and sighed with relief, it was only ten-twenty. While at work I had looked up Erik's address which I learned was conviently five minutes away from my mother's house in the downtown area of Belfast.

At ten twenty five on the dot I pulled up to the high rise apartment building and quickly grabbed Emma out of the car seat and her bag out of the trunk. I exhaled deeply and made my way into the lobby of the building, which rivaled the look of Donald Trump's New York apartment and his gold toilet.

"Welcome to the bel tare." The man standing by the door smiled at me. He was dressed in a maroon jacket with gold colored trim, black slacks and shiny black shoes.

"Thank you." I mumbled and made my way over to the elevators and pushed the up button. At ten twenty seven the elevator chimed and opened its doors willingly. I inhaled sharply and looked at the buttons "one, two, three…" I panicked slightly as I went through all the numbers "forty-eight, forty-nine…" I let my eyes scan the buttons again "Where's PH?" I looked at my watch and looked over the numbers once again. I shook my head and walked back out of the elevator to the man standing by the door "Excuse me…" I touched his arm gently, shifting Emma in mine "but do you think you could help me…?" I pointed at the elevator "I'm meeting a friend, he lives in the PH…" I looked confused "but I don't see a PH button, what exactly is a PH anyway?"

The doorman laughed slightly and led me back to the elevator "Ma'am, PH stands for penthouse." He followed me into the elevator and pointed to the black keypad "there isn't a button for it, you have to put in the code" He paused slightly "He did give you a code, didn't he?"

I nodded slowly "yes, I believe so. There were numbers following the PH, I take it that's it?" the man nodded and I slowly pulled out a piece of paper from the pocket of my jeans and looked at the number written in Erik's messy handwriting _7467 _I looked up from the paper and to the doorman "Thank you for the help" I smiled.

He nodded "Any day ma'am." He gave me a small smile back and walked out of the elevator.

I punched the number in the keypad and the elevator doors closed and shot Emma and I up to the Penthouse that Erik occupied. At ten thirty exactly, the elevator strolled to a stop and slowly opened the doors to the penthouse. The living room was expansive, and it seemed to go on forever, a large white couch sat idly off to the right, behind it a metal spiral staircase twirled up into what seemed like the heavens but in reality only went to the second floor. To the left of the couch another equally large couch sat, with a tube-like fireplace in the center. My eyes gazed to the back wall, which was made up entirely of windows, making my stomach lurch just a little bit. Next to the last window stood a calming waterfall, and behind that was a opening to another room.

"Ah, Christine." Erik casually strode from the room I was looking at from afar. He was dressed in a pair of khakis and a simple white button up cotton shirt, his hair was messy and his feet were bare "Ten thirty on the dot, I expected you to be a little early."

I gritted my teeth and looked at him "if someone left instructions on how to operate the elevator to their penthouse, I would have been."

He looked at me and "Maurice!" he snapped and a man appeared out of the same room erik had just appeared from "if you could take the littlest Miss. Daae to her room…"

I wrapped my free arm around Emma and shook my head "No, I can take her myself.."

His gaze hardened as he looked at me "Fine, take Miss. Daae to the child's room."

The man nodded "This way, Ma'am."

"Christine." I whispered and followed the man up the steps and into a room on the right. "Thank you." I looked at him as he walked out and placed Emma in her tiny bed. I placed a kiss on her forehead and stroked her hair away from her face and smiled slightly, she was pure innocence and I wanted her to stay that way.

"Ma'am?" Maurice appeared at the door again "I was instructed to show you your room before we make it into Erik's office." I stood up from the side of Emma's bed and looked at him before I looked back down at her "Don't worry, she'll be fine." He walked into the room and over to the bed, switching on a baby monitor and handing me the second one "here you go." He smiled slightly and walked out of the room "Follow me."

I looked back at Emma and followed Maurice, shutting the bedroom door behind me. I followed him to a room at the end of the hall, which was a large room, with one wall missing and glass replacing it, with a door that led to a wonderful balcony. The headboard of my bed was pushed against the wall, making the rest of it protrude into the center of the room. "Thank you." I whispered walking over to the bed and throwing the bag on top.

"Erik has told me to tell you there is something in your closet for you to wear." Maurice cocked his head to one side "He also told me that he expects you at eleven, I'll be back to collect you soon." He nodded once and left, shutting the door behind him.


	4. deal with the devil

At ten fifty five a soft knock came at my door. I lifted myself up off the bed and straightened the dress that was hanging up in the closet. I padded my way towards the door and opened it only I didn't find Maurice, I found Erik, waiting patiently with his hands behind his back.

"Christine." He looked at me for a second and then turned around and started to walk off "Follow me."

I jumped slightly and followed him at a distance. He was still wearing the same outfit he had on when I had met him, why did I have to change into a dress when we weren't getting married in front of anyone? Why did he want me to wear white out of everything we did together? I shook my head slightly and practically ran into his back as he stopped abruptly "sorry." I whispered.

He looked back at me and opened the door to his office, which was smaller than my bedroom, but much larger than Emma's. He stepped inside and I followed, I moved away from Erik and walked to the large windows and pushed open the door and walked out onto the balcony, perhaps this height thing wasn't too bad if it had views like this most of the time. I closed my eyes as a gentle breeze swept across my face, why exactly was I marrying him again? To keep Emma, of course. I sighed and looked at the baby monitor that was clutched tightly in my hand, not a sound from her; I smiled slightly and looked back out at the Belfast skyline. It was a gorgeous night outside, compared to the way it had been yesterday evening and early this morning when Emma woke me up from the 'farry dunder'.

"Christine." I turned back to look at Erik who was leaning on the door frame and I secretly wondered how he didn't break the glass. How long had he been there anyway? I sighed as he moved out of the door way and a pastor was waiting patiently inside. I nodded slightly and padded my way into the office, past the glass desk and near the pastor "Pastor Turner, how pleasant it is to see you again." Erik smiled at the man and they shook hands "This is Christine" Erik motioned towards me and I waved slightly "She just couldn't wait to get married, you know how they are." Erik leaned into the pastor and laughed slightly.

"Of course, shall we get started?" Pastor Turner smiled and motioned the both of us to stand in front of the desk. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood in front of Erik "Now, take hands…" the pastor smiled as Erik's large hands encapsulated mine, they were so warm, except a ring that was pressing into my hand "upon your request ma'am we will hurry the ceremony up," I scowled at Erik, who kept staring at me, amusement dancing in his eyes "Please repeat after me…"

"I, Christine Marie Daae take thee, Erik Logan Holloway as my lawfully wedded husband, to be my one true love, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

The pastor smiled "Place the ring on his finger." I quickly took the ring out of his hand and shoved it onto his finger in one quick motion. "Now Erik, Repeat after me…"

"I, Erik Logan Holloway take thee, Christine Marie Daae as my lawfully wedded wife, to be my one true love, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part." He slipped two rings on my finger, the solid silver wedding band first, followed by a stunning engagement ring.

Pastor Turner smiled "I now pronounce you man and wife." The pastor stepped away from us and smiled "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Holloway." He cleared his throat in the uncomfortable silence that followed "If you will step over here to the desk and sign the Marriage certificate…" he motioned to the desk and produced an ink pen handing it to Erik first, who in turn handed it over to me.

I signed my name shakily and put the pen down "If you'll excuse me." I whispered before I padded out of the room and down the hall back to the room I was given. Tears flowed freely down my face and when I made it into my room; I collapsed on the floor in a heap of sobs. It wasn't a marriage, it was a business deal, a deal with the devil so to speak, it was mostly a deal to keep Emma safe and sound with me.

_

I woke up the next day, tucked comftorbally in my bed, with a headache and a heavy left hand. When did I make my way up to my bed? I shook my head and got out of bed. When did I change into my pajamas? I wasn't drunk last night, or at least I didn't think I was, I didn't remember having a drink at all, all I remembered doing was crying. I shook my head, perhaps I changed with blurry eyes and a heavy heart and just didn't remember it. I slipped a robe over my long pajama pants and spaghetti strapped pajama top and made my way into the room Emma was playing in.

"Mommy!" She chipped as I walked into the room.

"Em!" I kneeled down and embraced the little girl "having fun with your dolly house?" I questioned as the little girl waddled back over to the toy

"Yeah!" she giggled and held out Barbie.

I shook my head "No, we have to go eat breakfast, come on." I stood up and held my hand out for Emma who in turn lifted her arms. I laughed tiredly and picked her up carrying her out of the room and downstairs.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Holloway."

I jumped slightly and turned around to see Erik "Do not call me that." I shot him a look.

"But you are my wife" he smirked and led Emma and I through the kitchen and into a little dining nook, where a cute little high chair was sat up.

"I may be your wife by law, but I'll never be your wife by love." I spat and set Emma down and smiled at her "what do you want for brekkie?"

"FOOD!" she exclaimed and threw her hands and legs out and laughed

I smiled and nodded "Food!" I kissed her forehead and turned around to look at Erik "What?" I snapped

He crossed his arms and rubbed the stubble on his chin "Nothing, nothing it's just… I thought you were swamped with meetings today? Twenty-five I believe you said…" he cleared his throat " 'literally twenty-five meetings' was I not wrong?" he cocked his head to one side, something playing in his eyes, was he laughing at me?

I crossed my arms and looked at him, straightening my posture as best as I could "I lost track of the days, anyone can do it when you're working constantly." I felt the heat rush to my face "Besides, I always spend my Saturdays with Emma" I looked over at her and smiled, she gave me a toothy child smile back "Now if you'll excuse me…" I tried to push past him "I need to get my child some breakfast."

He looked at me "Christine…" he said in a condescending tone "The staff will be bringing out breakfast here in a few minutes." He sat down at the head of the table and I decided to take a seat next to Emma "Why is she still in a high chair anyway?" He picked up his orange juice, and the sound of his ring clinking on the glass sent a chill down my spine.

"Because she's still too tiny to sit at a table, Erik!" I looked at him "She could fall off, she could get hurt!" I sighed and looked up at Emma, putting on my best smile "Isn't that right baby?"

Emma clasped my face between her hands and laughed squishing my cheeks "Yes! Yes!" she pushed my cheeks together making my lips form a squishy face "fishy!" she laughed and squished my cheeks together again "Fishy! Fishy! Fishy!" she squealed with delight and threw her head back laughing.

I smiled and looked at her "what sound does a cow make?"

She giggled and cocked her head to one side "It goes moooooooooooooooooo mommy!"

I smiled and nodded "yes! Very good Emma! What about…. A duckie!"

Emma's eyes got wide and she practically jumped up in her seat "wack! Wack! Wack!" she giggled and pressed her tiny hands on her mouth, her green eyes lit up with excitement.

I laughed and leaned in, letting her press her tiny forehead against mine "Yes! Very good Emma!"

She grabbed my cheeks and then licked my forehead laughing "Food!"

I turned around to find that a whole buffet had been laid out without me knowing. Erik was spooning scrambled eggs onto his plate already "Help yourself" he gave me his signature crooked smile and I sat straight in my seat. "Tell me, Christine.." he cocked his head to one side as he picked up a bowl of gravy "What you have been doing these past four years?"

I spooned some scrambled eggs onto my plate and a few onto a plate for Emma "You can't just go asking about my four years like you're asking me about how yesterday went." I grabbed a few biscuits and opened them up on my plate spooning the gravy on top. I added a few pieces of bacon to my plate and I broke up a few pieces for Emma "Besides, it seems obvious how three of the past four years have been." I glanced up at him "Besides, I wish not to discuss anything with you over breakfast or any other time to be exact."

He held up his hands "Fine, as you wish." I glanced over at Erik and frowned slightly. Was this how my marriage was really going to be like? "Before we stop talking until further notice, I would like to tell you that I have a black tie affair to go to in about a month and as my wife, you're obligated to go. You can pull out your supreme acting skills for a night can you not?" I nodded slowly "Good. I saw your clothes Christine, Impressive improvement since the last time I saw you, but nothing black tie affair." He took a sip of his orange juice "So I've taken advantage and bought you something. It's hanging in your closet as well."

I sighed and took a bite of my scrambled eggs, swallowing before talking "Fine. Out of everything your staff thinks of, why did they not think of a Sippy cup for Emma?"

He looked confused "What do you mean?"

I sighed and dropped my fork on my plate to where it made a clinking sound "What do you mean 'what do you mean?'" I snapped and rubbed my face "Emma can't use a regular cup, Erik. She's too old for a bottle." I spooned a bit of egg onto a spoon and Emma opened her mouth willingly, she always reminded me of a baby bird. I sighed as he still looked at me "I have one in her bag, watch her, make sure she doesn't poke her eye out with something."

"how can she poke her eye out with somethi-"

I looked at him "Erik…. She's three, she'll find a way." I stood up and placed a kiss on top of Emma's head and walked out of the room. I made my way into my room and found Emma's bag with ease, pulling the Sippy cup from the inside. I sighed and rubbed my temples, of course my parent's didn't wash it out before they put it back, now milk was crusted on the inside, something I hated to clean. I dropped my hands to my side and sulked back out of the room and down into the kitchen. I sighed and leaned on the counter letting my hair fall on either sides of my face, it was something I didn't want to deal with this morning, my head still throbbed and my eyes were beginning to hurt. Did I want to cry again? For what? The fact that my husband, the father of my child, wanted nothing to honestly do with me or my child, it was just small talk, idle breakfast chatter. I sighed and let a tear slip down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away. I wasn't going to cry, not here at the kitchen sink. "Fuck…" I pulled a towel hanging off the handle of the stove and shoved it into my eye, leave it to me to put soap in my eye. I quickly rinsed out the Sippy cup and the lid and pressed the towel to my eye once again before tossing it on the table and walking back into the dining room.


	5. Watching

I leaned back on the bench and wrapped my cardigan around me. I decided to take Emma to the park after it had decided to stop raining and before Emma's nap was due. I didn't want to be alone while I watched Emma and her stubby legs run around the park with the other children and thankfully my brother didn't want to be alone with mom and dad all afternoon, thus making it a win-win situation for the both of us.

"Cal," I looked over at him "Do you think that I was wrong for doing what I did?" I questioned looking at the wedding band and engagement ring on my finger "He didn't tell me I couldn't tell anybody and you're the most logical person I know." I laughed slightly

He sighed and looked at me "Well you told me not to tell anybody and while I'm tempted to call the police, I must respect your wishes and as your older, much better looking brother, I have to say that you did. It was for Emma right?" he looked over at the toddler who was showing a piece of mulch to a five year old.

I laughed slightly and nodded "Of course it was for Emma. I just thought…" I sighed and looped my arm in my brothers arm "I just thought that four years ago, when I had told him, he'd stay by my side and we'd eventually get married in a church or on the beach, have a beautiful house and we'd raise Emma, both of us." I exhaled and laid my head on his arm "he doesn't even look at her, it's like she's the plague."

He sighed and looked down at me "Well, he's missing out, a lot Christine because that" he pointed to Emma who was waddling towards us "is the best little girl I've ever met, hyper, but the best. She's so smart you know what she told me the other day?" I made a sound and Cal continued "she told me that her mommy is the prettiest princess and that I was a ugly dragon." I snorted with laughter "And anyone can see how special she is, she's so smart."

I wiped at my eyes and nodded "She is so smart, this morning I picked her up from her bed, her pull up was dry, she told me she had to potty and we went, she went in the potty!" I smiled tears falling out of my eyes "I just wish that she had a father who cared, who married me in a nice wedding, for a beautiful purpous, not because he thought what I did was try to ruin him." I sighed and looked at Cal "want to go inside somewhere? It's still chilly out here and I don't want Em to get sick."

Cal nodded and stood up "I'll go get the monster." He laughed and walked onto the playground like a dinosaur. I smiled and wiped at my eyes and watched Cal scoop up emma, swinging her around in a circle. She laughed as he flipped her upside down and carried her back to me "I think I got the right kid…" he flipped her back up and she laughed.

"I think you do too!" I laughed and grabbed Emma before putting her into her car seat "we can go back to Mom and Dad's house and have some tea while Emma naps or we can go back to Eriks apartment.."

Cal looked at me "I don't want to go back to that Apartment Christine, and I sure as hell don't want to go back to mom and dads." He laughed slightly "look, if the monster needs a nap, go home. I'll find something to do, besides…" he wiggled his eyebrows "there might be a lady or two out here."

I laughed and slapped him playfully on his chest "oh, hush you!" I hugged him and smiled slightly "You're the best brother ever!"

He laughed "Well I've had twenty-five years of practice, that happens."

I smiled and broke away from the hug "Well, I know you've only had three years practice with being an uncle, but I think Emma is okay with that." I smiled and hugged him again "I'll call you when I get home, okay?"

Cal broke the hug and looked at me "You better, if not I'm calling the cops, deal?"

I smiled and nodded "deal. But the cops? I thought you always said that if someone hurt me in any way possible you'd get your army buddies and go all army on them" I waved my hands in his face and laughed slightly "I'll be okay, I'll call you! I promise!"

He nodded "okay, okay…" he kissed me on the top of the head "Now go, I don't want you to call me in the middle of the night telling me that Emma is in the hospital because she's sick." He laughed and pushed me gently away.

"Mommy?"

"Yes emma?"

"Is that daddy?"

I felt my heart lurch into my throat and tears sting my eyes "No Emma, you know who that is, that's Uncle Cal."

She giggled and pulled her hood over her eyes "I know, silly mommy!" she giggled again and wriggled in her seat "I hungry mommy!"

I smiled and pushed her towards the car "We'll be home in a few minutes and we can get you lunch and lay down for naptime!" I smiled and when we reached the car I buckled her in, put the stroller in the trunk and got in the car myself "what do you want to eat?"

I watched Emma in the review mirror as I turned the car on, she placed a tiny finger on her chin and cocked her head, making my heart ache. She was too much like her father "Hot dogs!" she threw her hands up and her feet out.

"Hot dogs?!" I laughed and nodded "Anything else Em?"

"Chicken!" she erupted in laughter and I started to drive off "And peas!"

I turned idly onto the street out of the parking lot "Hot dogs and peas?"

"Yes peas!" She giggled "lots of peas!"

I smiled and five minutes later Emma and I pulled into the parking garage instead of the parking lot. It had started to rain and I didn't want her to get sick. I pulled into a parking spot. I turned off the car and slipped out, grabbed the stroller and grabbed Emma last, strapping her in the stroller and walked to the elevator pressing in the code.

When I got inside the penthouse I let emma out of the stroller and she ran wild, like she regained all her energy from the drive home. I laughed slightly and pressed a button for the tv, which came down from the cealing. I gasped slightly and watched it decend slowly from the cealing.

"You're home? So soon?"

I looked back at Erik and turned my attention back to the TV, searching for a show that Emma would like "Yeah…" I cleared my throat "it was a bit chilly outside. I didn't want to get Emma sick. It's a good thing we came home too. It started to rain on our way back to your place" I settled on Barney and Emma seemed to come running. "We can leave if you have… company. A sock on the door would have been sufficient as well."

"You're my wife; I don't have that kind of company, not anymore." He muttered and made his way to the sea of windows looking out them, his hands behind his back.

I looked down and stroked Emma's hair "Well, I'm about to make Emma lunch, would you like something? A sandwich maybe?"

Erik shook his head "No, I just ate not too long ago…"

I nodded and pointed to Emma "Could you watch her? She just wants a hotdog and some peas, five minutes, literally."

Erik looked over at the little girl who was sitting on the couch and it looked like he was nervous "sure."

I nodded and made my way into the expansive kitchen. It was a wonder that this room didn't have one of its walls knocked out to have glass put in. I searched the kitchen for hotdogs and the pantry for peas, both of which I found quickly. I placed the peas in a pot that was sitting in the dishwasher and the hotdog on a plate and popped it into the microwave for a minute. I stirred the peas in the pan and then scooped them out when they were a bit warmer than luke warm. I grabbed the hotdog out of the microwave and cut it up into bite size pieces and placed it in the dining room.

I made it to the living room and stopped in my tracks. Erik was laying on the couch, with a cute little three year old brunette laying on top of him, watching barney. I leaned on the wall and wrapped my cardigan around me, watching the pair who were watching TV.


	6. Revelations

"_I'm Pregnant…"_

_I watched Erik's face twist in confusion "Pregnant? What do you mean?"_

_I closed my eyes and rested my hands on the chair "I mean there is a tiny life growing inside me." I inhaled sharply and gripped the chair tightly "I thought long and hard about telling you. I-I thought about getting a abortion." A tear slipped through my closed eyes "But I couldn't do it Erik." I opened my eyes and stared at him._

"_How could… but we…"_

_I shook my head "It must have broken…" I sat in the chair and rested my elbows on the table and my head in my hands "Erik, I'm so sorry…"_

"_Sorry?" He sat next to me and rubbed my back "There's nothing to be sorry about Christine"_

"_Son?" Erik and I looked toward the door to the burly man was standing "Don't you believe a word she says." He moved in to the apartment Erik had lived in "I bet she didn't tell you she was pregnant before she had met you…"_

"_Erik.." I looked at him, horror dancing on my face "I wasn't! I swear! You were my first!"_

_The man laughed and shook his head "Silly girl, Brainwashing my son! Making him believe that you loved him, just so you could use his money for your bastard child and your stupid little shark charities." The elder Holloway placed a hand on his son's shoulder "Who do you believe more, Erik. Your slutty, hippie loving 'girlfriend' or your father?"_

_Erik walked towards me and looked at me, pain wretched on his face "Is it true? That this isn't my baby?"_

_My breath quickened and I shook my head "No! it's not true! Erik, believe me! I just found out myself!" tears slipped down my face "I love you Erik…" I stood up and ran my hand along his cheek "I love you." Erik shrugged away from my touch, gave me one last look and shook his head sadly and made his way out of the apartment with his father in tow._

___

"no… please… Don't go" I gasped and sat up in bed looking at the time, 4:05 in the morning. I yawned and threw my body backwards, back onto the pillows and tried to go back to sleep, which didn't come easily. It had been such a long time since I had that dream, or nightmare as I believed it to be. I never understood why Erik had chosen to abandon me, when he had known that he was my first. I shut my eyes tighter, to where I had seen white spots dancing and then decided to give up sleep all together, at least for the time being.

I threw the covers off my body and slid out of bed and found myself in the kitchen. I grabbed the milk out of the fridge and poured myself a glass before popping it into the microwave for a few minutes. I grabbed a piece of left over dinner pizza from the fridge and munched on it, on my way into the living room. I padded up the stairs and looked at the sliver of light coming from under the door, that must have been Erik's room. Was he asleep? I cocked my head to one side and placed the piece of pizza in my mouth before I bravely padded over to his door and cracked it open.

There he laid, sprawled out on his bed, papers and his laptop laid forgotton. I silently made my way into his room and to his bed. He rolled on his side causing me to stop dead in my tracks. As soon as his breathing returned to its pattern I quietly shut the laptop and stacked the papers ontop, placing it on the bed side table. I looked at him, his right side still covered with the white mask "oh erik," I whispered "What happened to you?" I sighed and backed out of his room, shutting the light off and the door behind me.

I leaned on the door and closed my eyes, feelings were still there. I didn't want them to be, he obviously had no feelings whatsoever for me. I took the piece of pizza out of my mouth and walked to the bathroom, throwing it away. My appetite was lost once again. I moved soundlessly back into my room sipping at my warm milk. I shut the door silently and turned on the TV, and surfed through the channels until I rested on sleepless in Seattle and eventually fell asleep.

_

at ten in the morning I jumped out of bed. How could I have slept till ten?! More importantly who was watching over Emma? I grumbled and pulled on my robe and practically ran out of the bedroom and made a bee line towards Emma's door opening it. Empty, like I thought it would be. I sighed and ran down the spiral staircase and practically ran into the man who had shown me to my room the first night.

"Mrs. Holloway, good morning." Maurice smiled

"Where's Emma!" I looked at him, wide eyed

He chuckled slightly "Well, she woke up quite early this morning, Erik had Mrs. Johnson watch her for a while, but she kept following him around. I just left his office and she was sitting on the floor playing with a doll."

I put a hand on my chest "Where's his office?"

Maurice smiled "it's upstairs, turn left, third door on the right. I can show you the way, if you'd like."

I nodded slightly "Yes, please." I stepped aside and followed him up the stairs my hands playing with the waist tie of my robe "Do you know how long she has been up?" I questioned.

"About two hours." He looked down at me and smiled "She looks so much like Erik; I don't see how she's not his." He shook his head and I inhaled sharply "out of line, I'm sorry Mrs. Holloway."

"Did he tell you she wasn't his?" I questioned, wringing my hands.

He nodded "yes, you see when he had graduated college and came home with his father he was torn up about it; poor guy didn't eat for a week, I don't even think he slept."

I swallowed hard "how do you…"

"it's my job, Ma'am. I've known Erik since he was born." Maurice smiled and stopped on the steps "I didn't even know you two were dating until you two were married. It's just good to see Erik so happy again."

I snorted, Erik? Happy? Hardly. I gave Maurice a small smile and we made our way up the steps and down the hall on the left, and finally made it to the third door on the right. Maurice looked at me, smiled and then made his way back down the steps. I swallowed and gently knocked on the door

"Come in."

I inhaled, turned the door knob and pushed it open "How has Emma been?" I automatically got on my knees and scooped the little girl up in my arms, giving her a hug.

"she's been silent." He stated before going back to his computer.

"Wook what Erik gave me!"Emma held up her tiny little hand which held a feather boa "I'm a pwincess!" she giggled and unsuccessfully wrapped it around her neck.

I laughed and stood up "Come on, Emma. Let's leave…" I cleared my throat "Let's leave Erik alone shall we?"

Emma nodded and ran towards Erik "Thank you, mister!" she climbed up on his lap and kissed his cheek before she bravely jumped down off his lap and ran out the door giggling.

I followed her to the door and stopped and looked back at him "If you're still having any doubts, after all these years, she's yours. She always has been, she always will be." I looked down at the floor and then back up at him "see you later, Erik." I gave him a sad smile and made my way out of his office.

For the rest of the day Erik stayed as far away from us as possible, and for dinner he didn't speak two words to me, respecting the fact that I didn't want to talk to him, ever. I sighed and picked at my food, I made a mental note that I had to talk to someone around Erik's penthouse or else I'd go crazy. Emma decided to throw her carrots on the floor, resulting in me picking up more of her food than actually eating. Carrots ended up getting mashed into the carpet and mashed potatoes littered the table. Erik seemed not to notice the cries of protest Emma had about eating her chicken and when a lump of potatoes or carrots were flung his way, he dodged them carefully. I looked at him and sighed, of course he'd make no attempt to talk to me. It had only been a day since I had instructed him not to talk to me, and I was already regretting it.

After an hour of fighting with Emma about dinner, I gave up. I went upstairs and made my way into the in suite bathroom, gave her a bath and fought with her for an hour to get to bed. Emma was in her 'terrible two' stage, even though she had been three for a few days already. I inhaled softly as her breathing slowed and a small snore escaped her mouth. I stood up and snuck out of the room, around ten in the evening.

I shut the door behind me silently and listened to the sounds of the apartment to see if anyone had been awake. I shook my head sadly and walked back into my bedroom, at least tomorrow I'd be back to work and when I'd pick Emma up, she'd be sound asleep. I closed my eyes tightly "Christine, you're her mother, you shouldn't think like that" I whispered to myself and made my way into the bathroom, it was time for a hot shower; Mashed potatoes had hardened in my hair.

After my shower I dressed in a large shirt I had found at the good will, it was super large, coming down to my knees but the fabric was superb and I couldn't pass it up. I got most of Emma's play clothes from goodwill, since she grew out of them so fast. I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror, pushing my brown hair away from my face; had I paled that much? Apparently penthouse living was not for me. I missed my waterfront house; it felt homey, less like a prison. I chewed on my bottom lip and looked down at the rings that decorated my left hand. Did I want a marriage like this? Of course I didn't, no one did, but it was either marriage or lose the most important thing in my life. I rubbed my left eye with my fingers before heading out to bed.

A knock came at the door just as I had sat down. Was this place ran on surveillance cameras or did people have great timing? I laughed slightly to myself and shook my head as another knock came to the door "Come in!" I called, I wasn't getting up off my comfy bed, and it was long overdue.

The door opened with a bit of a struggle but Erik walked in, a breakfast tray in his hands with dinner on the tray. "I noticed you didn't eat much at dinner."

I snorted slightly "Oh, so you were being observant of my plate, not the chaos going on around you." I nodded and pulled the covers over my legs "That's great because I was so much more worried about my plate than I was about the screaming three year old." I sighed, why did I have to be such a bitch towards him? "I'm sorry..." I whispered looking down at the duvet "it's just been a really, really long day and a even longer weekend." I shook my head "Thank you, really."

Erik looked around at the room as if he had never been in here before "Where can I…" he held up the tray slightly and I patted my lap. He walked towards me, placed it on my lap and backed up slightly. He stood there for a while, while I ate, before he said anything "Earlier…" he rubbed the back of his neck, I loved it when he did that and looked up at me with his lopsided smile. Always reminded me of Aladdin "When you said things about the- Emma, were they true?"

I swallowed the mashed potatoes and took another bite of chicken and nodded "They were all true, every single word." I placed my fork gently down on the tray and inhaled "Look, you haven't been there for the first three years, if you don't want to be there for the rest of her life that's fine, but I just want you to accept that she's yours, that she's mine…" I looked at my hands which were now resting on my lap "That she's ours." Tears stung my eyes, I must have cried more in two days than I did when I was in labor. I closed my eyes tightly and quickly wiped a tear away.

I felt the end of the bed push down and opened my eyes; the left side of Erik looked stunned, the right side of Erik however was emotionless and cold. "I have a daughter?" he looked at me and gave me a signature lopsided smile.


	7. a great sense of direction

The next morning I slipped into a high wasted black pencil skirt and slipped a silky long sleeved yellow blouse and tucked it in diligently. I pulled on my favorite pair of black stilettos and grabbed a pair of sandals for the drive to the office. I ran the brush through my hair quickly and shook it. The waves in my hair didn't want to cooperate with me today and I wasn't going to fuss over them. Emma needed to be up and dressed, I needed to get her to my mothers. I clicked out of the bedroom and down the hall to Emma's room where I saw Erik, face pressed to a small crack in the door.

I couldn't help but smile "Is she awake?" I walked further to the door, and Erik shook his head

"No, I don't want to wake her…" He pressed his face to the door again and sighed "I don't know how I didn't see it before." He shook his head.

I shrugged and ran a hand on my hip "It's a common mistake.." I pointed to the door "are you going to wake her or should I?"

He looked at me, sadness etched into his eyes "Why do you have to wake her?"

I folded my arms and leaned against the wall "Every day she goes to my mother's house, except on the weekends. It's normally when I have time with her. When I get off work she's normally asleep." I looked at the ground and sighed.

A long pause came between Erik and I, where he kept looking at me and I did all in my power to keep my gaze elsewhere. "Let her stay here."

My head shot up and I looked at him "but…" I pressed a hand to my forehead and blinked at him a few times "my mother is…" I gaped and shook my head "are you sure? I mean, She's a handful Erik."

He gave me a one shoulder shrug "I can manage."

I gave a half laugh and shook my head again, unbelievable. "Don't you have to work, or something?"

He eyed me and shook his head "No, I don't. I'm the CEO, I can do anything I want to do. You wouldn't have to work either, if you didn't want to."

I narrowed my eyes at him "of course I want to work, It's the only thing that gets me out into the real world, to be child free for a few hours." I shook my head, it also got me out of this prison that wasn't so cold as it was the first few days. "Well, if you're going to watch her you should know a few things." I pointed downstairs and Erik shut the door and followed me down the steps "First thing is first, she's being potty trained so when she wakes up check her Pull up. It shouldn't be wet but if it is, that's okay. Take her to the potty at least twice a hour. If she tells you she doesn't have to go, she normally does have to go. Sit there for as long as you need to." I grabbed my purse and made sure things were in it that I needed "She likes a total of four foods; chicken, peas, mashed potatoes and cheese pizza, no desserts, unless it's a graduate yogurt melt. She's also getting a few new teeth in so I normally freeze two rags and give her one to chew on, she gets discomforted easily and children's Tylenol will ease it up. It's in her bag." I pointed up stairs "That's in my room." I thought for a moment "She loves Disney princesses so if you have any of those movies you've bought yourself a few hours to read the paper or do whatever it is that you do. Barney is another favorite and she's scared of Yo Gabba Gabba." I exhaled deeply "make sure she has her sippy cup when she takes her naps at twelve and four and when you give her a bath make sure she doesn't get shampoo on her forehead or she'll freak out." I shook my head "At night time she likes to be told a story, make one up if you have to. She also loves to be sung to sleep; her and I both found it peaceful." I threw my purse over my shoulder and chewed on my bottom lip slightly, whenever Erik and I had spent our nights together, he'd always sing to me when we were just laying in bed "if you need to get a hold of me, for any reason whatsoever you…" I frowned "you know how to reach me."

Erik nodded slowly "She likes the park, yes?" he questioned

I nodded "Yeah, she loves the park." I sighed and rubbed my hands on my skirt "Erik… about last night, about the dinner" I paused and looked up at him "Thank you, really. Thanks."

I watched the corners of his mouth twitch up "You're welcome Christine." He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back "You better get going, it's raining and I heard that the traffic is heavy when it rains." He shrugged and smiled a bit "I wouldn't know, I almost always work from home."

I laughed slightly and nodded "Yeah, I should." I walked to the elevator and exhaled slightly "Look, about the carpet in the dining room, I'll clean it when I get home, okay?"

He shook his head "No need, I already have someone coming up here later to clean the carpet." He looked out the window before he looked back at me "see you later, Christine"

I scrunched my nose a bit "see you later, Erik." I nodded and pressed the button on the elevator and walked into its open doors. Once the doors secured me inside I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes; the feelings were still there and I figured they were always going to be. I straightened up off the wall and pulled my cell phone out of my purse. The RAZR flipped open with ease and I dialed my mother's number quickly.

"Christine?"

I smiled slightly as my mother's voice drifted over the ear piece "Hey mom." I listened to the elevator ding and walked out and into the garage "I found a babysitter for Emma today. You remember my friend Clare right?" I waited for her to say something and I realized she must have nodded "Well, her son's is having a birthday party today and well instead of just going to get Emma from you and being late to the party, I thought it would be easier to just leave her with her husband." I lied.

"Oh, okay then." My mother sounded disappointed and it made my heart ache "Well, I wanted to talk to you about something anyway." Then my heart ache suddenly turned into a stomach ache, did Cal tell her about Erik and I? I slipped out of my heels and into the sandals before I got into my car "In about a month or so I'd like to take Emma for a week. Your father booked a Disney vacation for the munchkin and we both think you need the break."

My stomach dropped, be away from Emma for a week? "Um…" I switched on the car and rested my head against the leather steering wheel "Yeah, sure." I said finally "that would be great, really." I smiled "She'll love it."

"Okay, great! Just call your father sometime during the week to tell us when would be the best week and Chris, sweetie I'm going to let you go now so this grandma can get back to bed." She chuckled "have a great day at work and an even greater time at that party."

"What Party?" I laughed slightly "Oh yeah… that party! It was a long night mom." I chuckled nervously "I'll talk to you later, Love you."

I felt my mother's smile through the phone "Love you too Chris."

We both hung up and I lifted my forehead off the steering wheel, I would need it to drive after all. I drove to work with my mind occupied, the thought of Emma leaving my side for a week was both rewarding and terrifying to think about. Emma would be having her first plane ride, her first time seeing Mickey mouse and her first trip to Disney World without me, but at the same time, I had a full week to myself, which after last night seemed like a vacation.

I pulled into my parking spot a few minutes later, slipped the rings off my finger and shoved them into the hidden console where I was sure they'd be well hidden. I wanted to keep my black mail induced marriage a secret for as long as I could. So far I had kept it hidden for four days and if I could do four days, what's a lifetime of keeping it a secret? I grabbed my shoes out of the passenger seat and slid out of the car running into the aquarium, where the first of my twenty five meetings took place.

The first meeting of the day was from the high school, interviewing me about the aquarium and all the exciting new things we had planned to put in within the next year. The second meeting was with the CEO about the conservation and rehabilitation idea that I had, which thankfully he was onboard with and planned to start within the next year or two. A majority of the meetings I had were about other aquariums, if we wanted to partner with them and if we didn't they'd ask if we'd like to support them in a monetary donation. By the end of the day my head was throbbing, I just wanted to get back to Erik's penthouse and go to bed.

I yawned as I entered the elevator and punched in the code. The doors shut and the elevator zipped off to the very top of the building. I inhaled slightly as the smell of rosemary chicken wafted through my nose. I was starving. I slipped off my heels and instantly dropped four inches. I sighed with relief and padded my way upstairs, I wanted to check on Emma before I ate. I cracked open the door a little bit and looked at the tiny sleeping form of Emma. I smiled slightly and pushed my way further into the room, bending down and kissing her on her forehead. I smiled and walked out of her room, shutting the door behind me.

"She's been asleep for a few hours now.." I looked over at Erik as I made my way back downstairs. How long had he been standing there? "There's dinner in the warmer if you'd like it."

I smiled and made my way into the kitchen, Erik following "I'd love it, I'm absolutely starved!" I pulled the plate carefully from the warmer and went to the kitchen table "I don't think I ate at all today." I went back into the kitchen, grabbed my utensils and sat back down at the table "no, I did." I nodded "I had a granola bar at twelve."

Erik looked at me "you don't eat much, do you?" He chuckled "I remember in college how you'd always raid the snack machine in Theodore hall, claiming they had the best snacks."

I laughed slightly and nodded "They did have the best snacks." I took a bite of the chicken and almost died, it was delicious "Remember that time when we were in speech that…" I laughed slightly "that Raoul fell down the lecture hall stairs and blamed you?" I smiled and looked down at my plate, I was supposed to be angry at the man sitting beside me, not laughing with him.

"Well, he shouldn't have tried to kiss you."

We both fell silent and I looked up at him "do you think…" I exhaled "that things would have turned out differently if I didn't become pregnant? Or if I had told you the news in absolute private? Where no one could overhear, you know?"

I heard Erik exhale and after a while he spoke "I think things would have turned out, much differently if you didn't become pregnant, yes. I don't think your eyes would light up the way they do each time you see Emma. I don't think they'd sparkle every time she did something cute or whenever she'd hand you a toy to play with. I think you'd be even more engrossed in work than you already are and I think you'd be lost."

I was already lost. I had been since he walked out of his apartment with his father, I was so completely lost. "Well, it's a good thing I have a great sense of direction." I smiled slightly and took a bite of cheesy mashed potatoes "How were things with Emma today?"

Erik scratched at his chin, this time it was clean shaven "Well, she woke up not too long after you left and I fed her breakfast and" He pointed to a spot on the wall "She threw a pancake." I laughed slightly at Erik's annoyed expression "But after that we watched Barney and went to the park." He nodded slowly "she saw a kid with a cast on his leg and she wanted one, so we came home and made a cast out of her blanket, she went to sleep watching the Disney channel, both naps and we had a pretty smooth dinner and bath time." He leaned back in his chair and crossed a leg "I told her a story and she fell right to sleep. It was a pretty easy day."

I smiled and pushed my empty plate away from me "So first day as daddy went smoother than expected?"

He sighed "She doesn't know who I am, does she?"

I looked at him "what do you mean?"

He sighed and rubbed the exposed side of his face "She never once called me daddy. You never told her about me?"

I looked at him and rested a hand on top of his, sending butterflies in my stomach "of course I did, Erik! I told her everything I knew about you! It's just she doesn't recognize you, not with that mask on your face." I rubbed my thumb on top of his hand and he grabbed the tips of my fingers and squeezed them gently, just like he used to "Give her time, she'll come around. I promise." I squeezed his hand gently and stood up. "Everyone comes around at some point." I walked into the kitchen and back out into the dining room where Erik was still sitting "I have to talk to you about Emma. My mother wants to take her for a week down to Disney world. I told her it was okay but I figure I should run the idea by you as well, since you're her father."

He nodded "That would be fine with me. When?"

I shrugged "Sometime next month, whenever."

Erik straightened up and looked at me "Well, it would be good to have Emma gone around the time of the black tie affair."

I nodded "okay. Just give me the date and I'll tell my parents." I smiled and looked at him as he gazed upon me. Could he tell how lost I'd been without him?


	8. Black Tie Affairs

_One month later_

"Okay mom." I handed over Emma's bag and my mother placed it on her shoulder "There are some graduate snacks in there, the yogurt bites are her favorites because they just melt in her mouth. You know, just in case she gets hungry."

My mother smiled and nodded "I know Christine, I know. I've raised two of my own."

Emma giggled and jumped up and down excitedly "Pwane! Mommy I get to go on a pwane!"

I bent down and nodded "Yes you do! Are you excited to meet Mickey Mouse?" I gasped slightly as she smiled "You have to give Mickey a big hug for me too okay?"

"Okaaaay Mommy! Wets go!" She looked up at my mother and smiled "I'm weady!"

My mother smiled and hugged me "We'll see you next week okay? That is if Miss. Emma isn't swept off her feet by prince charming." She broke away from the hug "Speaking of prince charming, when are we going to meet this new guy you've been dating?"

I shook my head "later, later." I pushed her towards the metal detectors "Now go, you'll miss your flight."

My father laughed "Christine, your mother is never late for anything."

I laughed and nodded "I know, daddy." I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly "See you guys in a week!"

I pulled out my camera as they walked away, taking picture after picture of them. Emma turned around to me and smiled, I loved how fearless she was. I watched them at the security gate until they disappeared and made my way back to the car and back to Erik's penthouse.

When I stepped off the elevator I was greeted by a team of hair stylists and make-up artists, who took their time with me, I noticed Erik when he came down a few times, a smirk playing on his features. I glared at him a few times, but they were always replaced by a laugh or two with the amused expression he'd give. Over the past month Erik and I had gotten along well, he took his role as daddy on with ease and Emma had even started to call him such which pleased Erik and almost always brought tears to my eyes when she said it.

At seven in the evening, when the prep team was done they sent me upstairs to get dressed. I found a dress bag hanging up in the closet and unzipped it to reveal a gorgeous sparkly silver gown. I pulled off my clothes and slipped into the dress, which fit like a glove. It was form fitting with a plunging neck line and gorgeous diamond straps that led to the backless part of my dress, which sat firmly just above my butt. The end of the dress flowed out, gorgeously. I felt like I was a film star in the thirties. I slipped on the shoes and slipped them on. They were strappy sandals with a small heel, it was perfect. I walked out of the closet and examined myself in the mirror and smiled, satisfied with the work that was done.

"Christine!" Erik called up the stairs "We've got to leave here soon, are you almost finished?"

I nodded and realized that he couldn't hear me nod "Yeah, I'm finished, I'll be down in a second." I looked at the necklace that decorated my neck, with the two rings Erik had given to me on our business marriage. I slipped the necklace off and quickly put the rings on my finger, where they still felt heavy and foreign on my hand. I grabbed a clutch out of my dresser and quickly shoved my tiny wallet inside, lipgloss and a picture of Emma. I put the necklace back on and rushed downstairs, almost falling over the dress.

Erik was standing near the elevator, his back towards me with one of his hands in his pockets jingling his keys. His hair looked messy and was in a loose spiky style, the Ryan Reynolds. His suit was black and I loved the way it had fit on him. I smiled slightly and tapped his shoulder, he turned around suddenly and seemed to relax when he saw me "are you ready?" he questioned and I nodded "good." He pressed the button to the elevator and a few seconds later it dinged and we both got in "You look beautiful tonight, Christine."

I blushed slightly "Thank you, Erik." I looked up at him through my eyelashes, why was I trying to flirt? I smiled and looked back down at the floor "You clean up nice if I do say so myself."

Erik chuckled "I have a suit or two hidden somewhere." He looked over at me and I looked up at him, as if on cue Erik and I wrapped our arms around each other, our mouths hungrily searched for the other. He pressed me against the wall of the elevator, his hands ran up my sides and pinned my hands above my head. I felt the leather of the ever present mask press up against my face a few times but the feverish kisses always melted away the feeling.

I gasped for air as Erik made his way down to my neck, placing kisses in my favorite spots. He released my hands and placed his on my hips "Erik…" I gasped as he placed a kiss on my lips, I let my hands grab at his shoulders pulling him closer to me. "Erik…" I gasped again turning my head away, "Erik, we can't…" I moaned into his mouth as he placed a kiss on my lips again "Not here.." I exhaled and closed my eyes as I felt Erik move away from me.

He cleared his throat and nodded "You're right. I'm sorry." He looked down at me a hint of a smirk playing on his lips "you don't know how long I've been wanting to do that." He breathed heavily

I laughed slightly and wiped at my mouth, my lip gloss pushed in the corners of my mouth "I think I do." I giggled and picked my clutch up off the floor. I pressed my lips together, still reeling from the feverish kisses Erik and I had shared not a minute ago. I had missed his kisses since he had walked out of the apartment four years ago.

"Ah, Erik!" an older gentleman walked up to Erik and I and patted Erik on the back "Welcome back boy!" He laughed and looked over at me "And who's this doll?"

Erik looked thoroughly annoyed "This is my wife, Christine."

The man laughed slightly and extended his hand and I placed my champagne flute in my other hand and took his hand for a handshake; except he pulled my fingers to his mouth and brushed his beard over my knuckles as he placed a kiss on them "Enchante, Mrs. Holloway." A lump caught in my throat, was I going to get used to that? No, I wasn't. I was still Miss. Daae to many, many people and Mrs. Holloway to only a select few "I always wondered when Erik would find a woman. He's been so secluded with his…" his eyes widened and he scratched at the right side of his face, signifying the ever present white mask on his face "…work. I'm sure you know all about it."

I looked at him "I don't actually..." I looked up at Erik and plastered on a smile "He likes to keep his work and love life separate." I felt him wrap a protective arm around my waist and he pulled me closer. I wondered if it was part of his act or if it stemmed from the moment we shared in the elevator.

"This is true, I don't like mixing business with pleasure." Erik looked around as 'I've had the time of my life' played over the sound system "Would you like to dance, Mrs. Holloway?"

I nodded and looked at the man "If you'd excuse us…" He nodded and Erik pulled me to the dance floor. He pulled me closely and rested a hand on my lower back "Who was that guy?" I whispered as he turned me around in time with the music.

Erik snorted and twirled me around pulling me back to him, closely. His fingers gently rand own my bare back, sending chills along my spine and giving me goose bumps "He's just an old family friend; my father's Ex-business partner." He sighed "They had this really big falling out when their company shut down. Apparently, now I'm not too sure about this, but a girl took them down single handedly, I believe she was six months pregnant at the time." He chuckled, and looked down at me "You wouldn't happen to have any involvement in that would you?"

I gasped slightly as Erik turned me around to the tune of the waltz, when did it change? "I might have some involvement." I whispered "if I had known it was your father…" I trailed off and looked up at him "I'm so sorry Erik, If I had known it was your father.. I would have done it differently."

He shook his head "No, he had what was coming to him. Besides, it's always nice when your father is put in his place by someone." He shrugged and sent me spinning. I laughed slightly and spinned my way back towards him "He's here tonight, somewhere, if you'd like to meet him again."

I looked at him and shook my head "No, I think I'll be okay." The second song ended and I broke away from Erik "I'm going to be" I pointed to the large French doors "outside. It's a bit stuffy in here." I inhaled slightly and made my way to the balcony. I leaned on the edge and looked out at the city of Belfast.

I felt a body next to mine and also lean on the banister "You wiggled your way back into my sons life?" the body next to me snorted "Still the same after all these years." I felt my blood run cold and I looked up at the man who was looking at me "The same gold digging whore you were back in college."

I shook my head "What do you want? Didn't you already ruin my life enough when you walked out with erik four years ago?" I spat and went to walk away but was stopped when he grabbed my wrist tightly.

"Not so fast, Christine, I believe you were the one who ruined my life." Gregory Holloway smiled and cocked his head to one side "You ruined my life the day you came into my sons life, brainwashing him and the likes." He shrugged "But you ruined Erik's life more when you did that to his face."

I looked at him, confusion etched on my face "Excuse me?" I squinted "I did nothing to him."

Gregory laughed and grabbed my wrist tighter "Well, that's not what he thinks." He pulled my arm bringing me in close to him, he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling "You see, after your little public protest your little hippies over at WildAid came and paid Erik a little visit." He chuckled in my ear "Or at least that's what he believes. I hired a few goons just released from prison to pay Erik a visit, courtesy of you of course. Made sure they used your precious little name." He breathed into my ear "What he doesn't know won't kill him now will it Christine?" I shook my head "Good girl, if you mention a tiny bit of this conversation I told you, that bastard child of yours will be gone quicker than you can blink an eye. I do believe she's enjoying her time in Disney World right about now.. am I right?"

"Yes, sir." I whispered, that certainly explained why Erik was wearing a mask, and it almost certainly explained why he black mailed me into marriage, for revenge.

**Authors Note:** _I'd like to post a very huge disclaimer. WildAid does not participate in violent acts of protest (That I know of) and I'd like to make this very clear. I'm not trying to give WildAid a bad name, they're my favorite charaity so I'm naturally going to use it. I encourage you all to check out WildAid's website ( .org) and sign the global petition to help protect sharks! They're so important to the ocean's ecosystem and without them our oceans will literally go insane. I encourage you all to watch Sharkwater as well. I'm only one person and I know I can't stop the slaughtering of sharks, but I can help educate people so it will be brought into light so that you can help stop shark Finning too!_

_also, here's a chapter a day early! I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! look back tomorrow for ANOTHER chapter. Also, since you guys are avid revewers (I love you for it!) after this chapter is posted, it will be my most reviewd story! To Live In Love comes in at second. THANK YOU!_


	9. Hatred and Pain

I pulled myself away from Gregory Holloway and pushed my way through the crowd, I had to get out of the building, I had to get as far away from here as I could. The room felt even stuffier than it had when I had left it the first time. How did Erik's father know where Emma was? Had he been stalking me? The thought made me shiver and brought tears to my eyes.

"Christine! There you are! I went to the balcony and—"Erik gently grabbed my arm and turned me around "are you okay?"

I shook my head "No, Erik… please, let me go!" I jerked my arm away from him and quickly rushed out the door and ran down the steps.

I heard Erik behind me "Christine! Stop!" I felt his fingers touch my arm but I jerked it away before he could grab my arm. I pushed the door open and lifted my skirts up, the split second it had taken me to do so, Erik caught up to me and gently grabbed my arm "What's wrong!?"

I shook my head as tears fell down my face freely "I can't stay here, Erik." I placed a hand onto of my mouth to stifle a cry, my wrist blood red with specks of purple already showing up "Please, let me go.."

Erik shook his head "No!"

Thunder crashed and a few rain droplets splashed on top of my head "Erik, I can't stay here, not after I hurt you so bad…" I closed my eyes as I felt his hand release my arm "I'm so sorry, Erik. I didn't mean to.. I didn't mean to!" I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands "I didn't mean for anything to happen, nothing. I didn't—" I cried into my hands, my shoulders shaking.

Erik kneeled down by me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders "What are you talking about Christine? Didn't mean for what to happen?"

I pointed to the right side of my face "I'm so sorry!"

Erik backed away from me and I looked up at him, his face etched with pain "Why, Christine?"

I closed my eyes, I wasn't good with lying "Erik…" I reached out to him but it seemed as if he backed away a bit "I didn't tell them to do it!" tears slipped down my face and the rain came down harder "They acted on their own accord." I stood up from the ground and looked at him "Erik, you have to believe me!" I grabbed onto his jacket and looked at him.

He gently removed my hands and looked at me "Four years Christine! Four years!" he yelled as the thunder rolled again "Four fucking years later you tell me this!" He ran a hand through his hair "Jesus, Chris! What else aren't you telling me?!"

I looked at him "I hated you when you left me! I hated everything you stood for and I hated every single memory we had together!" I shut my eyes "I hated when you weren't there with me for my first ultra sound or when I found out the sex of the baby and I hated that you wouldn't help pick out a name!" I screamed at him "I hated you Erik! Hated!" I walked to him pointing a finger at him "I sent you a picture of Emma when she was born and i didn't hear anything back! You never even looked for me!"

"I didn't look for you?!" He laughed and shook his head "I looked for you!" he walked towards me and it was my turn to back up "I looked for you for months Christine!" he grabbed my arms and looked at me "I checked every place in Massachusetts!" he let me go and held up his hands "I even went to your apartment when I came back to mine and found you gone!" he looked at me "I felt bad for just leaving Christine! I overreacted! I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to believe! I went back for you! To ask you and you were gone so I figured what my father said was true!" I felt the tears slide down my face and I thought I saw one slide down Erik's cheek, but I wasn't too sure, the rain was making it hard to tell. "I loved you Christine! I had planned to propose to you! I planned a life with you!"

I snorted a bit "I bet this is how you wanted it! A revenge marriage right?!"

He looked confused again and shook his head "No! It's not!" he put a hand on his forehead and dropped it walking to me "I planned to find you Christine, then you were stupid and made the papers! Do you know how upset I was to see how pregnant you were, putting yourself and the baby in harm! And then right after the protest was over, WildAid came and…" pain flashed in his eyes "They did this!" he pointed to his face to where the mask was "I was pissed and when I saw you at city hall… it released all those feelings again! I wanted you to feel the same way I did when it happened!"

I looked at him and shook my head "I didn't do it Erik! I didn't do anything to you! I didn't send them out I didn't tell them anything! I did. Not. Know. Where. You lived!" I poked at his chest "How could it have been me! WildAid doesn't do things like that!" I shook my head "Think about it Erik! Really, really think!" I shook my head and started to walk down the steps "I'm going back to your apartment!"

Erik looked at me and grabbed my arm "I'll drive you."

I shook my head. "No Erik, I want to walk home!" I yanked my arm away from him once again and started walking.

I heard Erik following behind me and I didn't even make it past the steps before he grabbed me, turned me around and kissed me in a way I had never been kissed before in my life. He pulled away and looked at me "I loved you Christine, I loved you then and I love you now and I will never stop loving you! I was stupid, you were stupid!" he shook his head "we're still both stupid!" he laughed slightly and I joined him "I know you don't wear your wedding ring Christine because of how much of an ass I was and I'm sorry."

I looked at him and wrapped my arms around him tightly "I love you too, Erik. I loved you even when I hated you." I chuckled slightly and closed my eyes tightly "I wish I knew who hurt you." I lied and rested my head on his chest "I didn't, I never would have." I looked up at him and he lowered his mouth down onto mine "You have to believe me." I mumbled.

"Of course I do." He exhaled deeply and looked at me "We should get home; there is no way we are going back inside looking like this."

I laughed and nodded in agreement. "I do believe it has rained more this spring than it has in the past." I wrapped an arm around his waist, and he wrapped a arm around my shoulders. We walked in stride with one another. I paused slightly and looked at Erik "You do believe me, right? About your face…"

He looked at me and sighed "Christine… The last time I didn't believe you, I was wrong. I lost you once, I won't lose you again." He stroked my cheek with his thumb and looked at him "I'll believe you until you give me a reason not to."

I closed my eyes and leaned into his hand "Erik, I wish I could tell you, I do, but for the safety of Emma…" I placed a hand on top of his "I can't, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself." I turned my head and placed a kiss on his palm.

"Whoever did this, threatened Emma?" I looked up at him and he looked completely, utterly outraged "They are going to pay, for threatening my daughter, for threatening my wife, for doing what they did to me, making me think it was you the whole time. They will pay!"

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead into his chest "Oh Erik…"

Erik and I made it home safely, with the help of Maurice who not only was employed by Erik for his previous employment in the US. Marines, but he was also a driver for him. I remembered that while in College, Erik never drove anywhere, always said he never had to get his driver's license because they weren't needed, now I understood why.

"Erik," I looked over at him my hands behind my back "Can you unzip me?" I blushed slightly as I watched Erik walk towards me, his hands laying in his pockets "I'd do it myself, but the zipper is stuck." I whispered as he stopped in front of me. I turned around and chewed on my bottom lip as I felt his fingertips trail down my spine and to the tiny zipper that rested on my behind. I felt his fingers slip between the sequined fabric and my skin and gently tug on the zipper.

"There." He breathed in my ear and closed the small gap between him and my back, wrapping his arms around me placing a few kisses along my neck and onto my shoulder "it wasn't stuck, was it?" he whispered.

I closed my eyes and leaned into him and lifted my arms up to play with his hair "No, it wasn't" I whispered as he ran his finger tips up my arm, sending chills down my body, I loved the way he gave me chills.

"I didn't think so." He mumbled and I turned my head to find his mouth. He smiled and kissed me deeply, once again sending chills down my body "I think," He whispered "you should shower and change before you get ill." He lowered my arms and moved away from behind me.

I exhaled and nodded making my way toward the stairs and I looked over my shoulder "The door will be open, if you'd like to join." I looked at him through my eye lashes and in one quick movement I shrugged the dress off and covered my chest, running upstairs in just my panties.

I laughed as I heard Erik running up the stairs after me I screamed as a arm wrapped around my waist and spun me around "You're such a tease, always have been." Erik whispered in my ear before he slung me over his shoulder and headed into his bedroom and into his shower.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body tightly and wrapped one around my hair. Erik stepped out behind me, wrapping a towel around his waist. He grabbed a smaller hand towel and rubbed his hair with it. I leaned on the wall and looked at him smiling, it was obvious that he worked out, he was muscular and I loved how it added to the 'greek god' I had called him in college.

He turned and looked at me giving a crooked grin "Like what you see?"

I laughed and blushed slightly "Perhaps, what if I do?"

He walked towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me close to him, I squeaked and he looked down at me and smiling "then you can have it." He mumbled rubbing his nose on mine, making my eyes close.

And for the first time in four years, we made love.

**Authors Note:** _I hope you are all enjoying the story! There are no alternate chapters to this where all the sex is involved like in "To Live in Love". I want to keep within the guidelines of and while I haven't had any problems with sex in my stories before; I don't want to chance it now, people are making such a big deal about it and I completely understand why. They don't want their stories taken down and neither do I so until I'm 100% sure we are all in the clear, I'll keep the deets from my stories. _


	10. blindfolded surprises

"Christine…" I groaned slightly and rolled over to get the intruding voice away from me "Christine…" it whispered again and I once again rolled over; "wake up" the voice laughed and a hand gently rubbed up and down my arm.

I groaned and opened my eyes reluctantly "Good morning…" I muttered, placing a small kiss on his lips, how could I have been so lucky? Four years ago I was falling asleep alone and in the blink of an eye I was waking up to the man I had been so lucky to be in love with. I rubbed my eyes and turned back around, facing him "how long have you been awake?"

He pushed a strand of hair out of my face and shrugged "A hour or so."

I groaned and rubbed at my eyes again "Why didn't you wake me?"

He chuckled "Because you look beautiful when you sleep."

I stretched and smiled slightly, running my finger tips up and down his arm "You always say that." I smiled "What are you doing today?" I questioned, my eyes still heavy with sleep.

Erik moved away from me and out of bed. I watched him as he pulled on his jeans and a soft cotton Harvard Athletics tee shirt. He turned around and looked at me, his eyes wild with excitement "go get dressed and I'll show you."

I got up off the bed, grabbing the sheet and wrapping it around me. He followed me out with his eyes and I shied away before I moved into my bedroom quickly. I searched my hangers before I settled on a beige dress. It was one of my favorite dresses; a sleeveless dress with lace detail at the top, the skirt stopping three inches from the knee. I slipped it on and zipped it up grabbing the three quarters length white jacket from my suit and slipped it on. I looked at myself in the mirror before I decided to add a thin brown belt. I smiled, stasfied with my appearance and dug a pair of nude Christian Louboutians out from their box and placed my all time favorite heels on my feet. I quickly moved to my jewelry box and found a pair of small diamond earrings, the ones my brother got me the day Emma was born. I smiled fondly at the memory and pushed the backs through the holes. I moved from the walk in closet to the bathroom and laughed at the sight of my hair; it screamed that I just had great sex. I shook my head and quickly ran a brush through my hair and decided to try an experiment. I grabbed a large section and braided it, wrapping it around the top part of my head. I giggled in delight and tied the end off in a bun behind my left ear.

"Christine!" Erik called up the stairs.

I huffed and opened the bathroom door "I'm almost finished!" I called before shutting the door again. I looked at my face in the mirror and smiled slightly, I had gotten most of my color back that I had lost almost a month ago; but then again I was a lot happier than I was a month ago. I decided against foundation and gave myself a light make-up look. I clasped my hands together and smiled before I walked out of the bathroom and out of my bedroom "I'm coming!"

I walked down the stairs and smiled as I saw Erik standing at the piano "You look," he paused and rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at me, the way I loved "stunning, Christine."

I looked at him and smiled, cocking my head to one side "You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Holloway." I giggled slightly and wrapped my arms around his waist. He had changed his shirt into a short sleeved white V neck, kept the jeans he had on earlier and added a pair of black shiny boots. A pair of sunglasses was casually clipped to the point on his v-neck with a crème fedora with a large black horizontal stripe that sat on top of his head.

He shrugged and turned and wrapped an arm around my shoulders "I try." He pointed at his shoes "Versace."

I smiled and looked down at the shoes again "Very nice." I pointed to mine "Louboutians."

He whistled "Fancy." He walked with me to the elevator and looked down at me "Well, I heard that you took a week off work while Emma was gone, so I thought I'd take advantage of this opportunity." He punched in the code to the elevator and it made its decent.

I smiled and looked at him my eyes wild with excitement "Where are we going?"

He laughed and shook his head "Can't tell you that, Christine." Erik led me out of the elevator and into the black 2012 Cadillac CTS-V "But for the time being…" he produced something from his back pocket "I'm going to have to blind fold you."

I laughed and looked at him "you're not serious are you?" His expression didn't waver and mine fell slightly "Oh, you're serious." I sighed and slid into the back of the vehicle and Erik beside me "Whatever you do, don't take me to a saw mill and kill me." I laughed slightly as he pulled the blindfold over my eyes and tied it tightly around my head.

"Can you see anything?" I shook my head no "perfect." I heard the door shut and felt Erik's hand on my knee. I gave it a gentle squeeze and then heard the drivers side door open and shut quickly "You know where to go Maurice, I believe the directions I printed out should be descriptive enough."

"Of course." Maurice stated and I felt the car lurch forward.

"Erik, what about your work?" I linked my hands with his and I felt him bring my hand up to his lips to kiss it.

"Christine" he condescended "I'm the CEO I can take any amount of time off as I need." He placed another kiss on my hand before lowering it back to our legs "Besides, I think this will be well worth it, you'll love it."

I frowned slightly, how I wish I could see the expressions on Erik's face, or even the scenery outside the car. I felt the car turn to the left, and then to the right, did it do a loop? I sighed slightly and laid my head on Erik's shoulder "You know, I bet this looks real nice to the people driving next to us." I chuckled "A blind folded girl with a man and his driver."

Erik snorted with laugher "It would look ridiculous if the windows weren't tented enough." He gave my knee a gentle squeeze before he placed a tiny kiss on the corner of my mouth "Relax, Christine. You'll love where were going."

I nodded and relaxed taking time to listen to the classical music that cascaded through the speaker and into my ear drums. Every so often Erik would place a kiss on a part of my body; my hand, my forearm, my neck, my cheek and more often than not, my lips. I loved the blind kisses, I found it exhilarating. After a while of high speeds, the car slowed down and rolled to a stop.

I placed my hands in my laps and grinned excitedly "are we here!?" I practically bounced up and down in my seat

Erik chuckled "Almost, but I'm going to have to put these noise cancelling earphones on." He sighed and I could picture him shake his head "It all seems very weird now, but trust me."

"I always trust you." I whispered and closed my eyes, even though I couldn't see anything anyway. Erik slipped the earphones on my head, making sure he didn't ruin my cute little hairdo and in an instant I was deaf, alone with my thoughts and an annoying ringing in my ear. I felt Erik's hand touch mine and before I knew it my feet were on solid ground and then within seconds I was ascending stairs.

The head phones were pulled off my ears and I was gently pushed into a cool leather seat "Are you ready?"

I giggled slightly nodding "As ready as I'll ever be!"

I felt Erik's hands move behind my head and untie the blindfold "Before I take it off, close your eyes."

I laughed and closed my eyes tightly "Hurry up already! I'm dying to see where we are!"

He moved the blind fold off "Open your eyes."

I slowly opened them, the light seemed harsh now that I was used to the light "A plane?"

Erik scratched at the top of his forehead and shrugged "I'm taking you some place, on my personal jet."

I gasped slightly putting a hand to my mouth "Did you just say, Personal. Jet?" I laughed and looked around "Oh Erik! It's gorgeous!" I looked at the seat I was sitting in and ran my hands down the white leather. To my right two other chairs sat with a table between them, behind the chair I was sitting in two more chairs were situated in a sitting position with matching partners across the aisleway. The carpet was beige and the walls were cream with porthole windows and a gold trim. Lights glittered among the top and the cealing was bathed in a soft white light.

"care to take the grand tour?" He held out his hand and I smiled nodding excitedly. Erik and I passed the three extra rows of chairs and made it into a larger room in the back. It looked very much like a small apartment in the sky. Four chairs were sitting to the right in a circle around a table, a tan leather couch was pushed against the wall that held four port hole windows; A stainless steel staircase sat behind a fifty two inch plasma TV.

I gasped slightly and looked up at Erik "There's more!" I pointed to the staircase.

He chuckled and led me over to the staircase "of course there is more, Christine." He ascended the stairs two by two, myself following one by one; the stairs were replaced by a plush carpet that I sunk down at least an inch. To the right of me was a large open room with a smaller flat screen but a large long oak business table with ten seats. More portholes decorated the walls of the plane which led my view to a door. I pointed and Erik nodded showing the way. It opened into a bedroom complete with a king sized bed, a large tv and a remote controlled fireplace. Our luggage sat on top of the mattress but I sat down anyway.

"This is the best plane I've ever seen!" I threw my hands down my palms facing up "did you design this yourself?"

He shrugged and moved the luggage off the bed before he sat next to me "I did, I'm the leading company in aviation so I had to have one of the best planes on the market." He rubbed his chin before he looked at me.

I felt the comforter and smiled "it's so soft, down?" he nodded "This must have cost a fortune!" I looked around at the rounded cealing and the soft white light it was emitting "it's gorgeous." I mumbled as I laid back to look at the light.

He chuckled and got up "I make a couple hundred thousand dollars an hour, just in aviation." He turned off the lights and replacing it with views of the night sky and most of the constellations. I gasped slightly as the spectale before me un folded. "Oh Erik, this is perfect!" I turned my head to look at him and smiled "it's so beautiful!"

He nodded and looked at me "It is beautiful." He whispered before he pulled my chin in for a pulled back quickly and sat up "Come, we are departing soon, should get buckled in before the plane takes off and we're thrown around the cabin."

He stood up and I followed suite "Can you fly this?" I questioned

He laughed and looked at me "Can I fly this? Can I fly this?" he jogged down the stairs and I followed at a much slower pace "Christine, I didn't get my drivers license in college because I was too busy getting my pilots license." He held up his hands "you don't need a drivers license to get your pilot license." I chuckled and sat down in a seat at the table.

"Are you going to fly today?" I questioned, cocking my head to one side as I pulled the seatbelt from the plushy depths of the seat and tightened it around my waist.

He sat opposite of me and tightened his seatbelt as well "Nope, handing the plane over to the pilot today."

I smiled before I looked out at the skyline "so you're really not telling me where we are going?"

He shook his head "I can give you a clue."

I smiled "Oh yeah? Just one?"

He laughed "Just one."

I looked at the table and then back up at him "Okay, tell me."

He smiled "It's a lovely place I get to spend the rest of the week with my wife."

**Authors Note:** _I described Erik's outfit in this chapter with a certain person in mind. I've always loved Ian Somerhalder so that's who I almost always picture for my Erik and most of the time I picture Miranda Kerr for Christine or the usual Emmy Rossum. I picture little miss Emma to look like Suri Cruise. So I'm curious to how you guys have pictured Erik and Christine for this story (Without my influence!) I'm super curious to know! Also, I'd love a plane like Erik's! Who wouldn't! ha. Any ideas to where they are going?!_


	11. Unmasked

A few minutes after Erik and I had finished the tour and strapped on our seatbelts the plane started to taxi. It had to be one of my favorite parts about flying, besides the actual flying. Taxing always meant travel and when I was younger I didn't do it often. My stomach was a bundle of nerves as the plane slowly started its assent into the sky, oh how I loved the feeling! I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes, waiting for the ever so present ear pop.

After a few minutes of our assent into the sky the pilot spoke "Ladies and gentleman this is your captain speaking, we are flying high at an altitude of twenty-five thousand feet and will be arriving at our destination in approximately twelve hours."

I looked at Erik, my eyes twinkling with excitement "Twelve hours?!" I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned on the table "or is the pilot even in on your little scheme?"

Erik laughed, shaking his head "No way, he's not in on it at all."

"Well, there are plenty of places that take twelve hours to get to." I thought for a moment placing my fingers on my chin, the way Erik and Emma did when they both were deep in thought "There's always England." I gasped and let my eyes widen "Are we going to the Olympics?!"

Erik shook his head, a laugh escaping his throat "Christine, this is May; the Olympics don't start until July 27th."

I leaned back in my chair, crossed my arms and frowned "Well, it has to be somewhere in Europe, hawaii or even Barbados." I thought for a moment before I shook my head "I literally have no idea Erik. You've stumped me for the third time."

He stood up from his seat and I did the same, taking my heels off as we walked "The third time?" he questioned.

I nodded "Well… yeah." I wrung my hands and followed him into the part of the plane with the couch. "The first time was when I had seen you at the meeting in city hall. After all this time I thought you had died, you know? I never got any mail back or even the pictures so I just assumed the worst." I thought for a moment before continuing on "The second time was when you appeared in my office a month ago." I closed my eyes, how could things change so quickly in a month?

He sighed causing me to open my eyes "I was an asshole Christine, I was." He shook his head "I never should have brought Emma into it. I never should have done that. I practically black mailed you into marrying me." He shook his head "It's not how I planned it to go and with someone threatening you with taking Emma away," he shook his head again "I can't lose her now that I know she's mine, now that I finally have her."

I slid myself onto his lap and put a hand on his exposed cheek "You'll find out who did this Erik, I promise." I let my fingers trace around the outline of his mask and sighed "You're a smart man and I have complete faith in you." I placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth, my lips briefly touching the leather of the mask "I wish you were comfortable enough to expose yourself to me." I pressed my forehead against his uneven one "all I know is I'm not going to pressure you about it. You'll do it when you're ready." I played with the ends of his dark hair that pushed out from under his hat "You're a strong man, Erik."

He closed his brilliant green eyes "If you see it, you'll run away, just like everyone else."

I laughed slightly; I couldn't help it "Run away? Erik! We're practically thirty thousand feet in the air, I promise, I'm not going anywhere." I ran my hands down the back of his neck, over his shoulders and let my hand rest on his chest "Even if we were on land," I paused "I wouldn't go anywhere." I placed a kiss on the corner of his lips before I stood up.

He gently grabbed my wrist, which was still bruised by Gregory's firm hold; Erik didn't question it and I half wondered if he thought he did it. "Christine," He paused before he closed his eyes and led me back to him. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back "just do it." He whispered; pain present on the left side of his face. I inhaled slightly before I moved my fingers to him. I traced the outline of the mask before I made my way to the left half of his face; I traced his eye, the outline of his nose and his perfect lips. I gently let my fingertips make their way back to the right half of his face before I worked at the mask. The white leather material was surprisingly cool to the touch, although my forehead was on it a few seconds earlier. I closed my eyes inhaling, finding the courage to do this to Erik.

I let my fingers slide under the mask and a few seconds later it popped off like it was suction cupped to his face. I slowly opened my eyes, which I fixated on the white mask that was now in my hands. I moved my eyes from the mask, up to Erik's face. Flesh was twisted and red from his nostril to the top of his forehead and back to his ear; on his cheek a bubbled piece of flesh sat. I closed my eyes tightly before I opened them once again – the flesh didn't turn colors, it stayed bright red. I let my fingers gently trace the outline of the right side of his nose, his eye and where his eyebrow once was. Erik tensed up under my fingertips, sending tears to my eyes. How could his own father do something like that to his son? I inhaled deeply, dropped the mask to the floor and clasped Erik's head between my hands and kissed him.

It was a different feeling, I had already kissed him so many times with the mask on, that I had forgotten what kissing him with the mask off felt like. It was foreign, but it felt so much better. Tears slid down my cheeks as I continued to kiss Erik. I pulled away from the kiss and looked down at him "Erik," I whispered "Erik, open your eyes, please."

Slowly he opened his eyes and I gasped at how much brighter his green eyes seemed. He reached a hand up and gently stroked the tears away from my face "Christine…" He breathed.

I looked at him, taking a seat next to him "You're so handsome." I whispered, studying him intently "how did they…?" I trailed off.

He stiffened once again and turned his gaze towards me "The night after your protest, four people came to my apartment, the one you left," he muttered "to tell me that they had something from you." He bit his bottom lip, why did I find that so attractive? "They said that you were in the car and that you wanted them to come in first, to make sure that I wasn't going to harm you. In fact the tables turned and they harmed me." He shook his head, closing his eyes recalling the memory "I remember as one of them punched me in the face, right here." He rubbed the right side of his nose "A class ring might have been on his hand, I wasn't quite sure and then a burning sensation was just unbearable." I felt tears slip down my face "somehow they lit a rag, or something, I'm not sure my eyes were closed most of the time but they just sat there, as I was pinned down on the ground. I waited for you to come in, I waited and then I just decided to give up." He opened his eyes and once again wiped away my tears "They focused their fire on a few parts of my face." He rubbed at a spot on his nose that seemed melted and his eyebrow "once they were finished they shoved whatever they were using to hold the rag onto my face, like they were branding me."

I sniffled and wiped at my eyes "I'm so sorry i wasn't there to save you, Erik." My efforts to wipe my eyes failed as tears poured quickly and freely from my eyes "I should have been there."

He turned his gaze from his lap back up to me and shook his head "it's not your fault, Christine." He rubbed my forearm and grabbed my hand squeezing it gently "I should have been there for you." I looked at him, utterly and completely confused. He shook his head "This," he pointed to his face "isn't your fault, it's a part of my past that I'd like to forget but you…" he stroked my cheek "You're not a part of my past. I should have been there for you, Christine. The day that you found out you were pregnant, I shouldn't have ran out with my father, I should have been next to you during your appointments, during the ultra sound and I should have been there during her birth." He shook his head, his eyes filled with regret "I wasn't there to watch her take her first steps, or to hear her first giggle or her first word." He closed his eyes tightly "I just wasn't there. I don't deserve you and from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry"

I closed my eyes, I felt the pain from the past four years crash down onto me at once. He should have been there, but he wasn't and it had made me a stronger parent "I forgive you, Erik." I opened my eyes and the tears that had been building up spilled freely down my face like a waterfall. I had forgave him the moment Emma was put into my arms "I've forgiven you a long time ago."

He sniffed, and I noticed a wet trail down the twisted flesh. Erik had cried! I reached my hand out to wipe the tears away from his eyes "I uh…" He pushed his hips upward and reached behind him grabbing his wallet "I got the baby picture of Emma." He opened his wallet; newborn Emma sat proudly in the front. I clasped a hand to my mouth and let out a cry, somewhere, deep down inside, three years ago when he had received the picture, he knew he was Emma's daddy, and the thought made me gleeful. "I guess I always kind of knew."

I looked up at him and wrapped my arms around his neck, embracing him in the largest hug I could muster, all the pain and sadness that I had pent up over the past four years, the same pain that had crashed down on me had disappeared in a split second "it is I, who doesn't deserve you."

**Authors Note:** _Erik's face looks much like the movie version of his 'deformity'. I like that better and that doesn't look like he was born with it, it just looks really sore, and burnt. It's like two thirty in the morning (July 18__th__!) and I was too tired to describe it, but I felt as if it needed to come out before I lost what I wanted to say __sorry if it was disappointing!_

_Also, i'm uploading a day early, i'll be out of town on saturday and need to save gas, so this isn't a special two chapter update week, sorry! :(_


	12. Destination

I rolled over on the bed, opened my eyes smiling slightly. I scooted myself closer to Erik who in turn put a sleepy arm around me. We had ten more hours on the plane, and the both of us already joined the mile high club about an hour earlier. I pressed my lips together and reached for Erik's face, gently tracing his lips before I placed a light kiss upon them.

"Hey." Erik stretched and wrapped an arm around my shoulders pulling me in closer.

I smiled up at him before I rested my head on his bare chest "have a nice nap?" I questioned drawing circles on his chest and down to his stomach.

He rubbed my upper arm "of course. How long have you been awake?"

I looked up at him laughing slightly "Only a few minutes" I sat up wrapping the sheet around my body "you looked peaceful, but I thought that if I had to be up, you had to be up too." I giggled and leaned over kissing him before I stood up and started collecting my clothes up off the floor "Besides, we still have ten more hours up here, we have to do something!"

Erik sat up and ran both of his hands down his face, I watched him and wondered when the last time he actually did that "I can think of something." He grinned.

I looked at him and laughed slightly "Of course, I could too." I pulled my bra on, followed by my panties and dropped the sheet to finish getting dressed. I slipped the dress over my head before I walked to Erik. He zipped it up slowly, making sure that he ran his finger tips up my spine, causing me to shiver "I know what you're trying to do." I looked over my shoulder at him and gave him a small smile "It's not going to work."

"This is your captain speaking, we will be arriving at our destination in approximately ten minutes, please fasten your seatbelts."

I looked over at Erik and grinned "We're almost there?!" I went to look out the window but Erik quickly pulled down the blind "I still can't look out?" I pouted.

He shook his head "No, it's a surprise and if you look out you'll see where we're at." I pouted at him causing him to laugh "You look like Emma when you do that."

I smiled looking at the blinded window "I miss her." I looked back at Erik and chewed on my bottom lip "I didn't think I'd miss her this much! I'm sure she's having a fabulous time and all but…" I sighed "I just want my little girl back home." I smiled up at Erik "Where she belongs, with her mommy and her daddy."

Erik nodded "Agreed." He stated simply before he turned to the window "I promise, I'll always be there. For the rest of her life." He glanced over to me "I don't want to miss anymore of her life. I've already missed so much."

I reached over and grabbed his hand "I video tapped everything I could. I always had a video camera on her." I laughed slightly "I have them; we can watch them when we get home."

Erik's eyes seemed to brighten as he looked at me, how handsome he was without his mask. "That'd be wonderful."

I smiled and inhaled slightly as I watched him put his mask on his face, how did it stay on? "Do I have to have the blindfold back on?" I frowned slightly causing Erik to laugh.

"Of course, until we reach our final destination!"

I looked at him suspiciously but closed my eyes anyway "You'll have to put my shoes on." I ran my foot up the leg of his jean and smiled "if you can find them" I opened an eye looking at him "And you better find them, they're louboutians!"

Erik quickly tied the blind fold around my eyes and placed the noise cancelling earphones on a few minutes after we had landed. I felt my shoes being put on my feet and I was escorted out of the plane and directly placed in a car. I felt Erik's hand run up and down my thigh, squeezing my knee once or twice. I felt the car turn on to what I can only imagine to be a main road as it picked up speed. I giggled like a little school girl, I wanted to know where we were, and not knowing was part of the fun. I tried to get a clue by smelling the air, but the smell of rain had blocked any other smells.

I felt the car lurch forward faster and faster and then suddenly we stopped. I lurched forward, thankful for my seat belt and felt back against the seat. I groaned slightly, what had caused us to stop so suddenly? More importantly why were we traveling at such a high speed? I shook my head, that wasn't important.

I felt the earphones slip off my head "We're here."

I grinned like a fool and "can we take this silly blindfold off yet?"

"no, we're here but not completely _there_ yet." I groaned which caused him to laugh "just about five more minutes, I promise." He placed a kiss on my cheek before he exited the car and helped me out of it a few seconds later. He took my hand and squeezed it gently.

I listened to the sounds, a car horn and some people talking and an elevator, why were we getting on an elevator? "Erik?" I looked over at him, or at least in the direction I believed him to be in "Erik you know I'm afraid of heights! so help me god if we jump off something!" I threatened.

He chuckled "We're not jumping off anything, watch your step!" he caught me as I tripped into the elevator "Perhaps those shoes weren't the best for where we're heading."

If I could have given him a look, I would have "Erik…" I said in a tone "These shoes were meant for walking, and that's just what they'll do." I raised an eyebrow but I was sure he couldn't see it, the blind fold was so large "So please, enlighten me on how these shoes are not the best for where we are heading." I listened to Erik sigh "Fine, I'll take them off but only!" I held up a finger "if you hold them."

Erik chuckled "Fine, Maurice can take them."

I turned my head to the side as I pulled my shoes off my feet "Maurice is here? Hello Maurice!"

A heard a second chuckle and realized that the elevator doors didn't close quite yet "Hello, Mrs. Holloway."

I handed my shoes to someone "Take care of them, please! I've had them since I was like seven months pregnant!" I patted my tummy "They're like vintage now."

Maurice laughed "Will do Mrs. Holloway, Erik, are you ready?" a silence followed and I guessed that Erik nodded "Very well, you'll be at your final, final destination in two minutes. Enjoy!"

I grinned as I heard the ding of the elevator and listened to the doors shut. In a second we were shot into the air, assending until the elevator slowed down and the doors opened.

"Are you ready?" I nodded as Erik led me out of the elevator. My feet touched metal, it was cold and sent shivers up my spine. I turned a corner and then I felt something soft and warm under my feet a blanket? "Okay…" Erik stepped behind me and ran his hands up my arms and placed a few gentle kisses on my neck before he untied the blindfold but kept it taught against my eyes "ready?"

I laughed "yes, Erik! I'm ready!" Then he took off the blindfold, letting my eyes feast upon the city below me. The lights twinkled in the twilight and the light played on top of the river, I looked up at the man behind me and then at the guard rail that kept us from falling over the side "Erik," I pointed to the river "is that the Seine?" I looked at Erik again, who had a small smirk playing on his face "Erik, are we in Paris?" I pointed over to what looked like the lourve "We are in paris!" I hugged him before I stumbled pack "We're on the Eiffel tower?" my eyes went wide as I looked at him "Erik!" I slapped him playfully on the chest before I turned back around to look at the city below.

"Hungry?" Erik came up behind me and wrapped his arms protectivetly around my tiny frame "there's a picnic.."

I turned to look at the blanket and smiled slightly "Oh, it's perfect!" I broke away from his hug to get to the red and white checkered blanket. "Are those crossants? A baguette!" I gasped and grabbed a long thing of bread "Cheese and black grapes! Oh look at the wine!" I looked at Erik, a large smile plastered on my face "Oh, this is so perfect! Thank you!"

Erik sat down cross legged in front of me "Well, I remember you telling me in college how much you've wanted to go to Paris someday." He shrugged slightly "I thought today might be the day. I mean, you worked so hard to keep a full time job and be a full time mother." He poured some of the white wine into the beautifully crafted wine glasses "It also kind of makes up for the way I've treated you, in the past."

I looked at him and smiled slightly "Erik, everything you think you did to me, was erased, forever when I got to hold Emma for the first time. She was the best thing you ever gave me." I smiled and leaned across the blanket and kissed him "But thank you, everything is so beautiful!" I looked over at the river and smiled "when are we going to check into our hotel?"

Erik snorted and pulled me into his lap "a hotel? Please, Christine." He popped a grape into his mouth "I own a house here."

I pushed away from him "Shut, up!" my eyes went wide and I laughed slightly kissing him "You never cease to amaze me, Mr. Holloway." I settled back down into his lap after I grabbed a slice of cheese.

He kissed the top of my head "Same for you, Mrs. Holloway." He mumbled.

I smiled taking another slice of the fancy French cheese. Erik and I watched the sunset in Paris, it was like any other sunset I had ever dreamed of, beautiful colors blended together in peaceful harmony; gold, purple, pink and the faint hint of the blue sky behind the Parisian skyline. Everything was perfect.

After the sunset, after our little picnic of parsian cheeses, breads and wine, Erik and I made our way back down the Eiffel tower, back into the car, out to the country side. The drive to the house was long and the driveway seemed to be even longer. A mile down the drive it looped around a fountain that bubbled gleefully with water that danced with the lights and then I saw it; it was a three story stone house with ivy crawling lazily up the side of the house. The shudders around the window were black with a equally black front door. Hanging a few feet from the top of the door was a silver door knocker, it was simple and beautiful.

Erik led me inside the house, the view inside was even more breath taking than what I had saw of the house outside in the dark. The parlor was large with a light colored wooden floor, A long rug was in the center of the circular room with a table full of gorgeous fresh flowers in the center. The room branched off into three different sections, directly ahead of me was a grand staircase, to the right of me was a doorway that led off to the east wing, to the left of me there was another doorway that led to the west wing. My eyes searched around the parlor and I focused on a gorgeous chandelier, how fun would it have been if I could swing on it?

I turned around to look at Erik and smiled "Oh, this is fabulous!" I made my way to the flowers, shoving my nose in one of the lavender poofs. I looked up at Erik and smiled "France is unbelievable!" I twirled around laughing "I could stay here forever!"

Erik crossed his arms "Why don't we?"

I stopped my twirling "What…?" I scratched at my chin, looking up at Erik "We can't just, drop everything and move to france!" I laughed, shaking my head "There's paperwork and my job," I looked up at the chandelier "there's Emma to think about, all her tiny little friends and my parents." I shook my head looking back at Erik "As much as I'd love to live here forever, we can't just up and move."

He chuckled slightly and walked towards me "It was just an Idea, Christine. Don't get your panties in a bunch" he wrapped his arms around me, rocking me back and forth gently "How about a tour of the rest of the house? I figure we're going to be using it a lot, later on. Vacations and stuff" He muttered before releasing me.

I smiled "Emma would love it here! It's so large!" I laughed "I'd love a tour, kind sir!" Erik took my hand and led me up the first steps of stairs, it was up there that I realized off to the right and the left a second set of stairs lived. In front of us there was a doorway that Erik and I made our way through. There was a desk in the middle of the room, a light sat in the corner of the desk. The wall behind the desk was full of books, with a ladder that reached to the cealing. Erik moved me away from the office and up the stairs on the right. There were a few doors which Erik showed me; a large bathroom with a stand up shower and a Jacuzzi tub, to one side there was a French door that led out to a balcony with a gorgeous view of the backyard with its rolling hills. Perhaps we could live here, one day. The other rooms were mostly staff in the right wing, which wasn't surprising.

Erik and I made our way to the second set of stairs that headed to the left wing. The first door on the right was a beautiful Parisian themed bedroom, light blues and pinks decorated the wire framed bed with degas' pictures dancing on the wall. It was the perfect room for a little girl. I smiled slightly before moving on to one of the other rooms in the left wing. A room was dedicated for the Christmas holiday and the sight of it made me giddy with joy. Rolls of wrapping paper decorated the walls, a Christmas tree was set up in the corner with presents already underneath it's large bristles. Snow flakes hung from the cealing and a mistle toe hung above the door. The floor was decorated with white carpet, with piles of sparkling foam made its way up the wall into a mound shape. I laughed; it had to be the best room in the house.

I made my way a few doors down to find a linen room. All of the left wing's fine towels were stored in a tempature controlled room. I let my hands run over the towels gently; they were soft and fluffy making me secretly wonder if this is what touching a cloud was like. There was also a gym, a sauna, a few offices with adjacent meeting rooms, and of course there were the bedrooms. The bedroom Erik preferred was right across from the movie theater but a few doors down from the bowling alley. It was larger than the Parisian themed room I had encountered earlier. The room was rich in crème and black; the walls were in a beautiful crème color with black velvet curtains encasing the large windows. In the middle of the room sat a huge black four poster bed with crème sheets that almost matched the wall but instead had a beautiful decoration etched out in black dancing along the bottom. The carpet was plush, I sunk down so low that the whole carpet could have swallowed me up. A beautiful high backed chair sat to one side of the room, a lamp sitting on a table accompanied it and a book laid open. I let my eyes dance around the room, landing on a low hanging chandaler, how could I have missed it?

"Oh Erik," I looked around and made my way to the chair sitting in it upon arrival "It's beautiful, darling" I swirled a fake brandy. I laughed and placed my imaginary cup on the table before standing up quickly darting to him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close "And it's all ours."

**Authors note:** _after the next chapter I'll be getting into some things that I literally just thought of while watching a movie! Also, I'd like to dedicate this chapter (although it has nothing to do with it) to the people in Aurora, CO. I was at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises on Friday morning and to think that something that terrible was happening just as I was exiting the theater is unthinkable (it's July 22__nd__ as I write this). My friends and I enjoyed our movie dressed in costume and were even interviewed by the news; while our happy occasion was taking place the mindless massacre was taking place several thousand miles away. At this time, I pray for the families who have lost loved ones in Colorado and before you continue on to the next chapter, I ask you to take a moment of silence for the fallen even though this is chapter is months later, thank you._


	13. Stories and Museums

I tossed and turned the whole first night Erik and I were in Paris; my body wasn't used to the time change and I had found that more than once I was up pacing the floor of the large room or exploring the mansion in the complete dark. Erik however, slept like a baby and was unaware of my state of distress. I often found myself enter the library at various times throughout the night, grab a book and start to read it before I decided it wasn't the one for me.

And somewhere between Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, I fell asleep.

"Christine!" I heard a voice in the distance, and on top of the hillside a man appeared riding a white horse. He was dressed in black pants and a open faced pirate like shirt "Christine!" he called causing me to run towards him "Jesus Christ! Where could she be?" The man said as I got closer, his hair growing long like Fabio's, blowing in the wind in such a style. "Christine!" The man on the horse smiled at me slightly, reaching his hand out ready for me to grab it. "Ah! Christine!" He smiled and pressed his lips against mine, the cool leather touched my face "Christine, wake up." The man on the horse said as he pulled away from our kiss "Christine!"

I jarred my eyes open only to be met by the mask free face of my husband. I put a hand to my forehead before I let out a shaky laugh "Sorry, I must have really been dreaming!" I looked around and stretched, my back stiff and my neck sore.

Erik kneeled in front of me and gently rubbed my knee through my silky pajama bottoms "What in the world are you doing in here?"

I shrugged and winced slightly. High backed chairs were not the best for sleeping in "I was reading. I couldn't sleep at all last night so I took a tour of the place for myself in the dark." I laughed slightly "I found the wine cellar!" I chided "then I found my way back up here and instead of finding the room the first time, I found this. I came back to the room and tried to go to sleep." I cracked my back in one swift motion and sighed with relief "I laied there for hours, so I came back here, found a few books and I must have fell asleep." I shrugged "last time I checked it was four in the morning."

Erik laughed and started to rub my shoulders, it was an awkward position but it felt good all the same "Well, the staff seemed to think that you ran off." He chewed his bottom lip, something that I had found insanely sexy "Actually, I thought that you ran off because of… You know."

I looked at him and gently cupped his face in between my hands "Erik, I told you yesterday on the plane, I wouldn't run away. I stay true to my word." I leaned back in the high back chair after I let go of his face and smiled slightly "So what are the plans for today?"

The first stop of the day was brunch in Luxembourg Gardens. Erik and I had sat on the edge of one of the many fountains that decorated the garden munching on our midmorning snack we had bought from a cart before we came in. I had thought that it was lucky I dressed in my vintage fifties dress with tiny red roses all on the fabric. I fit in perfectly.

After Luxembourg Gardens Erik and I caught a afternoon show at the Moulin Rouge, which was by far one of the best shows I had seen in a long time. After the show we made our way to Laduree to munch on their famous macarons then went to the Ritz for High tea. It was a fabulous building where Erik and I were surrounded by sparkling crystal, priceless antiques and our silver was polished to where my reflection could see its reflection.

"Erik," I sipped my tea and took a Macaron out of the box "what are we doing for tonight? More exploring?"

He shook his head and put down his cup of tea "No, actually I thought we'd catch an opera at the Opera Populaire." He leaned in and looked around mysteriously, his mask adding to the mysterious man he was trying to be "Legend has it that back in the eighteen hundreds there was this beautiful girl who was a dancer in the ballet, who had a tragic upbringing. She was orphaned at the age of seven and sent to the Opera Populaire to dance with the company. Well, while she was there she met the Angel of Music. In fact, he wasn't an angel at all. He was a man that lived in the catacombs of the opera house. He taught her to sing and I believe he fell in love with her as she got older." He shrugged, sipping on his tea hanging me in anticipation "Well, she landed her first role in Hanibal, the show that's playing tonight by the way, as the lead and this pleased the man more. She was exceptional and at the end of the performance a young man met her at her dressing room. He had known her from her time when she was a child, he was a very wealthy man that held a prestigious title." He shrugged taking a bite of a macaron "his title changes depending on the story. Anyway!" he took a drink of his tea "he left her in her dressing room to get changed, stating that he'd be back for her. Of course the man who lived in the catacombs didn't approve. He stole the girl for the night, taking him to his lair. Come to find out he was the mysterious phantom of the opera."

I gasped slightly and I found my self leaning in almost off my seat "Tell me more!" I gasped.

He laughed "Well, after that night she was returned and he demanded that she would play lead in every opera that they produced. Of course the Diva didn't approve of this, she threw a fit and was cast as the lead role in the next opera. He didn't approve of this, just like the Diva didn't approve of the ballet star taking over her lead roles, so he frogged her. You know, made her sound like a frog." He shrugged "the young ballet dancer and her secret fiancée decide to run off but return to the opera house that night. Then, on new years eve the phantom of the opera came down the stairs as Red Death, told the owners of the opera they wanted them to produce, his very own opera. This too often changes to what it was, but that's not a part of the story. Anyway, a few months later they put on his opera, where at the climax of a song, he kidnaps her again! Straight down into the catacombs of the opera house!" he threw his arms up before he pulled them down slowly, a waiter came over to the table and Erik shook his head no "So, the young ballet stars fiancée goes down to save her, gets caught up himself. She saves him by professing her undying love to the phantom, kisses him and he ultimetly lets her and the boy go. After that it's a mystery."

I leaned back in my seat "Fascinating," I whispered "Do you think we could get a tour of the catacombs tonight?" I smiled.

Erik shook his head "probably not, there's a lake down there and who knows if they have a boat or not. Besides, before the opera tonight we have dinner reservations at Vin Chaud on the Seine." His eyes glittered with excitement "It's beautiful there, you'll love it!" he laid a foreign bill on the table and stood up "You're looking extremely tired Chris, why don't we go home and we can relax before our big night tonight?"

I laughed slightly, nodding "Yes, I'm exhausted. Luxembourg Gardens is superb but so large and the museums around there," I shook my head "beautiful and of course the Macarons and the high tea! It's all too much!" I stood up as he pulled my chair out away from the table.

Erik and I made our way out of the Ritz and into the car that had been waiting for us. We slipped into the car together and made it half way down the road before Erik pulled out his phone and instructed the driver to pull over.

"Something came up," he looked at his iphone and then back at me "I'll have the driver drop you off at home, he'll come get me after the meeting is over." He scratched at the back of his neck and kissed me quickly "I promise, I'll be home as soon as I can."

I looked at him "Okay…" I said uneasily, could he have been cheating on me? In paris? The thought was absurd as I realized that the man had been with me since the night before we got on the plane. I watched him slide out of the car, his phone pressed to his ear. Whatever it was, it was important as he looked confused as he shut the car door behind him. He turned to me and gave me a wave before we drove off and I gave him a small wave back.

I woke up from my nap a few hours later feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the night. I jumped from bed as the absence of Erik was very prominent and it was very lonely. I sighed as I looked at the spot where he normally laid, I was unsure how I went without him for four long years. I shook my head and made my way into the bathroom where the bath was already drawn. I smiled slightly and leaned on the wall looking at it; Erik was home. I undressed and slipped into the warm water.

I let my eyes close as my mind drifted to thoughts of Emma. I wondered if she was having fun, if she was meeting all her favorite princesses and of course Prince Charming. I smiled and realized how much I missed her and how homesick I actually was. I opened my eyes and wiped the tears from them quickly. I wasn't going to cry; not here in Paris. My daughter was with her grandparents in the happiest place in the world and I was with Erik, in Paris, my favorite place in the world. I was sure I'd hear all about her trip when she got home, and I was more than excited to hear about it.

After my bath I decided to get dressed for the night Erik had planned. I giggled with excitement as I rummaged through my suitcase to find at least something to wear, and that's when I spotted it. A white bag was settled on the bed with a smaller white bag next to it. I peeked inside it and almost let out a laugh, it was a gown. Of course it was. I pulled out the ensemble it was made of a beautiful shiny navy blue fabric and was soft to the touch. I giggled slightly and after throwing on my undergarments I slipped the dress over my head, sliding my arms into the long sleeves that hug my arms tightly. I made my way to the full length mirror and looked at the long skirt of the empire wasted dress. Oh, it was beautiful. I looked in the bag again and noticed a pair of silver jimmy Choo heels. They were gorgeous as well. I laughed slightly; of course! I shouldn't expect anything less than gorgeous from Erik. I placed the shoes back in the bag and made my way into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

I decided that my hair gently curled would look the best, light make up and I was ready to go. I made my way back into the main part of the living room where I remembered the tiny white bag that was situated next to the larger one. I put my hand inside the top and felt the tell tale velvet of a jewelry box. I sighed, of course he would have also gotten me jewelry. I pulled my hand out of the bag and opened the large box to reveal its contents. A gorgeous set of earrings accompanied a diamond necklace and a matching bracelet. I fell backwards on the bed, staring at the set in disbelief.

"I had the same reaction." I looked up at the man who was standing in the door way, his hands shoved in the pockets of his suit.

I looked up at him, still gaping "They are gorgeous, Erik!" I looked back down at the set "I can't take this! It's too much!"

He shook his head "nonsence." He pushed himself off the wall and made his way towards me. Once Erik closed the proximity between us, he grabbed the jewels from my hand, the necklace from the box and made a circle with his finger in the air. I laughed slightly and turned around, grabbing my hair and pulling it off to one side. I felt his fingers gently play against my skin before the cold diamond necklace was placed around my neck. "There."Erik mumbled after a few seconds.

I turned to look at the mirror and gasped slightly as I saw my reflection. They were gorgeous; I had to say that they looked even better draped around my neck than they did in the box. "I'll need help with the bracelet."I held out my tiny wrist watching Erik intently as he grabbed the bracelet from the velvet holder "I really miss Emma."

He looked up from my wrist but then back down, he was having a harder time with the bracelet. His man fingers wouldn't copperate with him "I do too." He finally clasped the bracelet and looked back up to me "Which is why I got her…" he practically jogged to the dresser where he opened it and pulled out a box; how did he do all this while I was asleep? Was I really that tired? "…This." He walked back to me and opened up the box which held a beautiful silver charm bracelet with Cinderella's castle hanging off it.

I smiled and grabbed the box to give it a better look "oh, She'll love this Erik!" I smiled before I wrapped my arms around his waist "She loves jewelry!" I giggled slightly "What a perfect gift."

He wrapped his arms around my waist as well, kissing the top of my head "Well, I also got her a few other things."

I looked up at him then buried my face in between his arm and side "What else?" I mumbled.

He shook his head "Nothing expensive, just a stuffed animal I figured she'd enjoy. It's already being shipped home."

I sighed dreamily and looked up at him "Erik Holloway, you've come so far. You're the best daddy to Emma, so much better than what I thought you'd turn out to be in the beginning when you came back into our lives." I squeezed him tightly "I didn't think we'd be at this point," I closed my eyes and laid my head on his chest "ever."

Erik ran his hands through my hair before his large hands rubbed up and down my back "I didn't think we'd be here at this place, either. We're both too hard headed to see otherwise. In the same sence that my father destroyed our relationship, he also repaired it." I laughed slightly, he was slightly right. "I never thought that I'd accept Emma as my own. But after spending so much time with her, how could she not be mine? She acts—and looks-just like me."

I laughed slightly "she acts like you alright." I closed my eyes and hugged him tightly again "Why don't we finish getting ready. I'm absoutley starving!"

He laughed "I'm finished, just waiting on you m'lady."

I laughed and looked in the mirror, slipping the earrings onto my earlobes. I grabbed the silver handbag that I found in my luggage and turned to look at Erik "I just have to put my shoes on and then I'll be ready!" I grinned and made my way toward the bed and slipped on the shoes. "There!" I smiled and made my way out towards the front of the mansion.


	14. A decent proposal

There was a limo waiting for Erik and I outside, which made me giddy like a child. The last time I had been in a limo was for my best friend's funeral when I was five months pregnant. There was a man ready to open our door and when we got inside; the leather was smooth and cool and it was a lot nicer than the one I had been in prior.

"Tell me what this restaurant is like." I leaned into the back of the plush seat.

He laughed and put his hand on my knee squeezing it gently "Well, I can't tell you that. It's a surprise." He grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles "But, I remember the first time I went in there, I was floored!"

I smiled and looked out the window, we passed the Lourve, one of the places I had longed to visit during my stay in Paris. The limo pulled through a few back streets and stopped at a small building that rested almost completely in the dark. When I got out of the limo the smell of a river wafted through my nose and it was then that I had seen the small sign hanging above the door

"Vin Chaud on the Seine" I whispered and looked up at Erik "Well, I can't say that I'm too impressed already. The air smells like the underside of a starfish—please don't ask me how I know—and I feel like we are overly dressed." I looked at him and frowned slightly "You talk so highly of this place…"

He laughed slightly "I did not know that a starfish had a smell." He shook his head and led me up the walk way where water lapped at it's edges "Besides, you must not always judge the outside of a place here in Paris, Christine. What's inside may surprise you."

I looked up at him and placed a hand on his exposed cheek "Just like you huh?" I smiled and placed a quick little peck on his lips, his mask getting in the way.

"Or you." He responded, smirking down at me "I believe when I first met you back in college, I wasn't too fond of you." He looked at me "Or the way you dressed or how obessed you were with sharks. Just adored your face and I had other plans that didn't include falling in love with you, but it happened and I couldn't be happier."

"Thank goodness." I smiled

Erik smiled and made his way to the door with his arm wrapped around my waist. The door opened as we got closer and soft music wafted through the doors and into my ears. I smiled and wrapped my arm around Erik's waist and squeezed him tightly. Erik and I made our way through the tiny door and what I had seen was breath taking.

The floor was made of a blond wood and the walls were painted in a crisp white. Lights decorated the walls and placed a soft glow around the entrance, with a few wonderful black and white pictures of the Eiffel Tower. A lady was dressed in a crisp white outfit and made her way through a narrow hallway, which Erik and I followed; and then just like that we made our way into a beautiful room that had windows for the back wall, the Eiffel tower sparkling in the background. There was a round table set up in the middle of the room with two high backed chairs, all in white. Silver dining plates and silverware decorated the table and a large chandlier danced above our heads. It was now evident to me that Vin Chaud on the Seine was a house that was turned into a quaint little restaurant, with a few rooms turned into private dining areas.

Music played softly over the speaker, something different than what had played in the lobby "Oh, this is fantastic!" I moved toward the windows and looked up at the Eiffel Tower "It's very romantic." I turned back to him and smiled "who was the lucky lady to bring you here?"

He shrugged "Vin Chaud is a very respected cook and designer. The man can do it all and the first time I came here was for the opening of his restaurant. Every room was filled with as many tables as they could muster." He pulled out my seat and I moved away from the window and went to sit down. My seat was pushed in and in a blink of an eye Erik was sitting opposite of me "it's very customizable really. There are three rooms on this level, two upstairs and one large basement. The three on this level are perfect for two or four people and upstairs is for a slightly larger party and downstairs is for a wedding reception or the likes."

I looked around and smiled "Well, it's gorgeous." I listened to the music and looked at Erik "Shall we dance?"

Erik looked at me, slightly shocked "I was just about to ask that." He laughed and stood up, taking my hand in his and we made our way to the other side of the room. He took ahold of my waist and started to twirl me in different directions "You know, you should let me lead once."

I laughed and looked up at him "Sorry, it's just with Emma, I'm used to leading." I winked "besides, I didn't even know I was leading."

He chuckled and put a few fingers under my chin, tilting my head up a little, and then he kissed me. The kiss seemed like it went on for ages, and I was okay with that, it was perfect. "shall we eat?" He muttered.

I opened my eyes slowly and looked up at him "yeah, we should." I said in a voice a decimal above a whisper, why did he always have this effect on me?

After dinner Erik and I took a walk on the Seine before we got back into the car for the short distant ride to the Opera populaire. The car pulled up to a stop and before I knew it Erik and I were walking up the stairs; with camera flashes cascading light on us the whole way up.

"Why are there cameras?" I questioned as Erik and I made our way into the building.

He chuckled slightly "the French really do know how to do Opening night." He winked and pulled the tickets out of the pocket inside his jacket "Ah, my good man!" Erik made his way to a gentleman in a red jacket and held out the tickets "Tell me, where do we enter?"

He smiled and pointed to a door "right through there Mr. Holloway." The man smiled at me "Mrs. Holloway, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you." He bowed slightly and took two champagne flutes off a passing waiter's tray "As I always say, the French make excellent waiters." He winked and handed Erik and I each a champagne flute.

"Leo, you're just showing off." Erik laughed and looked at me "Christine, might I introduce you to Leopold Travisse, my French business partner of many years." He smiled at the man and then looked at me "Leo, might I introduce you to Christine."

"Enchante, madame." He took a hold of my hand and placed a kiss upon my knuckles.

I blushed slightly as the blond haired man bent down and looked up at me through his long eyelashes. "Pleasure's all mine." I smiled slightly and looked at Erik "My feet are getting tired in these shoes, can we go sit please?" I smiled slightly as Erik nodded and looked over to Leo "It was a pleasure meeting you sir." I looked up at Erik who looked slightly annoyed.

I felt Erik's arm snake around my waist and I took a sip of the champagine "Do you normally blush when you meet new men?"

I laughed slightly and looked at him "You honestly can't be jealous." I gasped slightly and smiled "Oh, you are! It's adorable." I placed the chamagine flute down on another waiters tray and looked up at Erik "no, I don't but it's not every day that you meet a Frenchmen." I chewed on my bottom lip for a minute "besides," I wrapped a arm around his waist "if I wanted, I could have anyone in this room," I winked and stood up on my tippie toes placing a kiss on his cheek "But I don't need to have anyone in this room when I have the most handsome, most important person right here." I tapped his chest slightly and smiled. "Forget about Leo, he was giving me the creeps anyway. If you should be jealous of anyone, it should be Raoul." I snickered and made my way into the auditorium.

"No, raoul should be jealous of me!" he chased after me.

I laughed and looked at him "well, I don't think that you two have to worry about being jealous about each other because the last time I saw Raoul was when I was about six months pregnant and let me tell you," I gave him a look "his boyfriend wouldn't be too pleased." I snorted with laugher "So I guess I'd be jealous of him if anything!"

Erik gasped slightly and looked at me "He's gay? I'd never imagine it!" he scoffed a bit "You mean you've seen him?"

I nodded "yeah, we had tea together a few weeks before he died." I shook my head "Another story for another day." I smiled and pointed to the stage "Oh, it's gorgeous isn't it? What's the opera?"

Erik looked at the playbill in his hands and then back to me "Hannibal." He looked at me "it's supposed to be really good. Sung in a foreign toungue." He smiled and looked down at the playbill "I think it's supposed to be Italian." He shrugged "We'll see."

I gave him a slight smile and nodded "yeah, we'll see." I rested my hand on his knee and the house lights dimmed.

"erik!" I gasped and looked at him "The opera was FANTASTIC!" I threw my hands down to my sides "ive never been to an opera, and I couldn't understand them, but…!" I gasped slightly and looked at him as we made our way to the steps of the Opera Populaire "I mean, I understood everything so perfectly!" I looked at him and smiled "it was tragic and lovely and sad and happy all at once!" I twirled around and looked at him smiling slightly "I loved it!"

He laughed and shoved his hands into his pants "I'm glad you loved it. I enjoyed it too." He looked at me and gave me a small smile "How about we sit here for a bit, wait until everyone leaves?" I nodded and we made our way to a stone bench, Erik was acting quite strange.

I smiled and looked at him "What was your favorite part?"

He shrugged and wrapped looked out into the street "Christine…" he looked at me and my stomach lurched, this was it, he was telling me something terryfing "I've been thinking long and hard about this, about how poorly I had treated you in the beginning." He rubbed the back of his neck, but he didn't look up to me "I mean," he laughed slightly "it was wrong of me to propose marriage in such fashion, but I thought it was the only way to…" He inhaled and pointed to his face "Since of this. I thought you hated me, hated the existence of me, everything about me and I wanted to hate you too. But I couldn't." He inhaled and got on one knee infront of me "Christine, I know that you kept your name at work, that you haven't told your parents but I wanted to do this right, I didn't want you to be ashamed of the marriage that you were forced into." He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and grabbed my hand "I love you, all of you, I promise that I'll be the best husband in the world, that you wouldn't have to be ashamed of something that's so beautiful." He opened the box and inside it sat a beautiful princess cut diamond engagement ring "I'd be so happy if you'd be my wife…." He looked up at me and grinned "…again." He winked.

**Authors Note:** _I have no idea what Vin Chaud on the Seine looks like nor what type of food they sell and I looked it up the best I could on my iphone and I found literally nothing but it mentioned in a few Valentine's day articles. So I described it as what would be my perfect restaurant also, as I write this it's shark week! Happy Shark Week! (you'll probably be getting this a month or two after shark week is over but still) and I remind you to go educate yourselves about shark Finning, and just sharks in general also go to and sign the petition to stop shark Finning if you haven't done so yet! It only takes a few minutes and who knows you could save a sharky-life or two :D by the way, I have NO IDEA if there is there is a smell to a starfish, but I'm sure there is._

_Also, if you've been reading my avengers story (if you haven't you should ;D okay done promoting ha) then you'll know that my laptop's charger has gone out. I can only write at the library and i only get there once or twice a week and i finished this chapter on thursday. I had thirteen chapters written before I even really knew where this was going so i was just kind of cranking them out. I am writing the next chapter a bit, i got three pages done on thursday. So now instead of steady updates you all might get choppy updates and i'm sorry :( I hope that it won't come to choppy updates becaue everyone really really likes this and i'm really really glad but we will see. :) Besides, it's about to get really good so hopefully i can write this next chapter in 43 minutes and start on the other chapter :) _


	15. Aquarium Abduction

I looked down at Erik, who rested upon one knee and was getting a bit ansy at my long pause. I stared at him for a while before a large smile spread across my face and I nodded probably more times than I should have "Yes! Of course!" I got down on my knees in front of him and held his face in between my hands and gave him kisses all over the unmasked part of his face.

He laughed slightly and pulled backwards, escaping my enthuastic embrace "I didn't think you'd say yes, that long pause…" he shook his head and took one diamond off my finger and replaced it with the much prettier diamond.

I laughed "You think I'd say no?" I pressed my forehead against his and smiled "it's lovely.." I held up my hand "But the other one was fine."

He shook his head "No, the other one has too many bad memories." He closed his eyes and then opened them quickly "how about we go home, change out of these clothes and take a lovely walk?"

I nodded and smiled "yeah, that sounds lovely. But it's almost midnight!" I laughed and stood up with the help of Erik "Midnight in Paris!" I smiled and twirled around "let's see what mischief we can get into yes?" I smiled and grabbed Erik's hand, my skirts and made a b-line towards the car.

"Do we have to leave?" I mumbled as I slipped into the back of the car next to Erik "It's too perfect here."

Erik laughed "yeah, Emma is due home in a few days. I suspect you'll want to be at the airport when she gets there."

I smiled and wrapped a arm around his before I laid my head on his shoulder "yeah, I'd love to be there." I opened my eyes, looking up at him "As long as you come too. My parent's would love to meet the man I'm engaged and married too." I crinkled my nose and laughed.

He nodded "I'd love to."

Erik and I stayed in silence for the rest of the trip to the airplane, and even inside I made my way into the bedroom after the plane had taken off and we were cleared to move around. I wasn't a three in the morning type of person, nor was Erik for he joined me a few hours after I had lain down.

I had woken up much before Erik had and made my way down into the main part of the airplane, onto one of the chairs, looking over the ocean for what seemed like ages before I decided to get the book I had taken from the house out of my carry on luggage.

I padded my way into the bedroom and bent over the luggage before I heard a small grunt come from behind me

"Come here."

I turned and looked at him laughing slightly "what if I don't?"

He chuckled and rubbed both of his hands down his face "I'm too tired to chase you. Please?"

I smiled and put the book down sauntering my way over to him. Once I reached the side of the bed I sat down and Erik wrapped a arm around my waist "what did you need Mr. Holloway?" I smiled and grabbed his free hand.

He stretched slightly and pulled me down to lay next to him "I just missed my wife, can't a man do that?"

I laughed and nodded "yeah, I suppose." I turned my head to look at him and kissed him gently on his chin "I am going to miss this Paris." I looked at him before I rolled ontop of him, practically pinning him "I've been thinking about it, maybe we should move there. I mean, while Emma is still young. She doesn't go to school yet, so she honestly doesn't really have friends… just the kids at the park. Moving so early would be good for her and a great way to learn a new language and the wonderful schooling." I smiled as Erik ran his fingers through my hair "and it would be a great place for my parent's to vacation." I smiled "Can we?"

Erik looked at me and stroked his chin; it was the first time that I realized he wasn't wearing his mask, that it was in fact on the tiny nailed down table beside him. "I think that would be wonderful."

I smiled and kissed him "We'll have to get everything in order, our citizenship, transfer everything…" I smiled "It would be around Christmas by the time we get there, perhaps even a few days before new years."

Erik nodded and rolled on top of me grinning slightly "I think that would workout perfectly."

I smiled slightly and cupped his face in between my hands "That would be perfect." I inhaled slightly and looked at him "I think Paris would be the perfect place to raise Emma.. perhaps even more children?" I looked up at him and flushed slightly "that is, if you want more children."

He bent down and kissed me passionately "Christine, I'd have a million children with you." He placed a few kisses behind my ear and nuzzled me "are you.." he purred slightly.

I shook my head gently "No, or… I don't know. We haven't…" I looked at him and giggled slightly as he gave me a crooked smile "We can check when we get home. What's it going to hurt? If we're not then we can always have fun trying!" I snickered.

He laughed and nodded "We certainly will have fun." And with that Erik and I spent a few hours alone in the bedroom.

Around lunchtime, after we had cleaned up from the mornings activities, Erik and I made our way out into the room with the oak table and was served lunch from one of the stewards. After we had enjoyed our sandwiches we made our way to the chairs and spent the rest of the day reading and talking about various things—how excited I was to get back to work, which Erik seemed apprehensive about and how we were excited to see Emma in a few days. For the rest of the trip, Erik stayed up into the cock pit with the pilot, and I stayed in the rest of the plane, taking another nap and of course I had to finish reading my book.

"Christine?" I felt a hand nudge my shoulder "We're about to land."

I looked up at him and held my book up "Can you hold my spot?" Erik nodded and grabbed my book gently out of my hands.

He looked at it and skimmed through it "What is this book?"

I pushed the two parts of the seat belt together and grabbed the book back "It's a complete works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. I found it in the library." I slipped my finger in between two pages and shut the book hugging it tightly to my chest "I love F. Scott, he's my favorite writer." I smiled and looked down at the book before I looked back up to the man who was now sitting across from me. "He almost got me into writing."

He looked at me as he buckled his seatbelt as well "But he didn't. It's a good thing that you chose what you wanted to do."

I smiled and nodded "yeah, I'm working closely with my boss to develop a conservation for the sharks." Worry etched Erik's face for a brief moment causing him to shake his head "Erik, tell me."

He shook his head again "Christine, it's nothing."

I inhaled and gripped the sides of the white plush leather chair "Tell me."

He rubbed his temples and looked at his lap "The phone call that I had was about your work." He looked at me "I had originally left to get your ring.." He pointed to my hand "but the phone call came. There had been a news story that you…" he looked up at me before he looked back down at his lap "That you had fooled everyone into thinking that you were a activist for sharks. There were pictures of you with finned sharks, with sharks hanging" he shook his head "The article said it told the true story of you; published the story of our marriage and things that people normally wouldn't know. For hours I worked relentlesently to find out where the Daily had gotten this story but they were no help. They told me that the story was found in their mail box unmarked and in a manila envelope. I called your work to see if they knew, they had no idea and believed the story. Told me that they left a message on your cell phone.." I exhaled deeply as I listened to the story "I'm sorry Christine, but they let you go from your job because of this story. They wouldn't listen to what I had to say and they told me that they didn't want you to head back to the aquarium at all. Your things were mailed home. Maurice. took care of them. Maurice also has been looking into who could have sent it. We should know soon."

I felt my heart sink deep into my chest. I didn't feel this heart break for a long time, when Erik had left me. How could they have fired me so easily without looking into it? "Erik…" I looked up at him tears falling down my cheeks "How could they…?" I shook my head and buried my face into my hands "They didn't even check into it." I sobbed. "I wouldn't do such a thing Erik! You know that!"

Within a few seconds I felt Erik's arms wrap around me tightly "I know.." he mumbled and rested his head on top of mine "It's going to be okay Christine, I promise. We'll find out who did it. And when we do, they'll be sorry."

The plane had landed about thirty minutes later, with Erik back in his seat and me sitting silently, staring out the window. How could I have forgotten my phone? I could only imagine how many messages I had, how full my voicemail was, how worried my mother must have been.

Rain splattered on top of the umbrella as we made our way from the plane to the car that Erik had waiting. Of course it fit my mood, this state always seemed to fit my mood, it knew when I was happy and i was sure it knew when I was upset. The ride home was silent with Erik sitting next to me, my hand in his. I wondered if he knew that not saying anything was better, or if he didn't have anything to say. Either way the fact that he wasn't saying anything at all made it perfectly okay.

When I got home Maurice greeted Erik and I but I just made my way to my cell phone, there were over two hundred text messages from my mother, my brother, the friends that I had lost. All worried about me. They could wait, the thing that I wanted to hear the most was the only voicemail I had on my phone…

"Hey, Christine, This is Terrance. Um… I just wanted to tell you that we're going to have to let you go. I hate to do this over the phone but we just recently aquired some new information and you don't qualify for this position anymore. We're so sorry Christine. We're going to have your things shipped to your last known address. In light of the things that have come up, we ask if you stay away from the aquarium for a while, just until things calm down. Thanks."

I threw the phone on the bed and buried my face in my hands. How could he be so casual with it all. Thanks? What was he thanking me for? Why were people so suddenly requiring new information about me? I picked the phone back up off the bed and listened to the voice mail again. There was something different with the way Terrance had spoke, he seemed, scared? Yeah, his voice had a bit of fear in it. I sat down on the bed and listened to the voicemail again.

"Erik?" I called and looked at the doorframe, wiping the tears off my face "Erik, please, come here!" I called again and five seconds later I heard heavy footsteps come up the steps and when he made his way into the bedroom I put the phone on the bed "I was listening to the voicemail." I pointed to the phone "There's something wrong, Terrance seemed frightened. He's a big burly black guy, he was a MMA fighter at one point, there's nothing in this world that scares that man." I stood up "I have to go to him; I have to make sure he's okay. There's something wrong."

Erik grabbed my hands and looked at me "You can't."

I looked him, my eyes searching his face "Why can't I?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair "because if something is wrong, I don't want.." He paused "I don't want to lose you, again."

I wrapped a arm around his waist and let a arm rub up and down his back as I hugged him tightly "I'll call you when I get there. I promise. I'll even have Maurice drive me if that makes you feel better." I looked up at him, smiling slightly "I promise, I'll be okay."

Erik nodded and broke away from the hug "yeah that'll be fine." He rubbed the back of his neck looking at the floor "I have to get some work done…" He kissed my forehead and looked at me "Be safe."

I smiled, nodding slightly "Of course, I'm always safe." Erik chuckled as I pushed past him "Maurice! We're taking a road trip!"

Twenty minutes later Maurice and I pulled up to the employee entrance into the aquarium.

"Thanks…" I mumbled as I pushed the car door open "I'll be twenty minutes, thirty minutes max." I grabbed the black leather purse out of the seat and shut the door behind me. The badge I used so many times before rested in my purse and I quickly grabbed it and scanned it. Thankfully it still worked.

"Christine!" I turned around to see Clare, and all her red hair "What are you doing here?!" she rushed to me, wrapping her arms around me tightly "I thought you were… you know..."

I shook my head "No… well, yeah, but something is wrong Clare." I looked at her "Don't tell anyone you saw me, okay?"

She nodded and looked down "Oh! You're engaged! The story was true!" she giggled slightly and shook her head as she saw the disapproval on my face "Oh, sorry." She cleared her throat "Who are you here to see?"

I inhaled slightly "Terrance."

Clare inhaled sharply "he's been acting really strange lately. I think the news of you being.. You know.. Really got to him. I think it would be best if you talked to him, ya know?"

I nodded "yeah, exactly. That's why I'm here." I pointed down the hallway "He's in his office right?"

Clare nodded "yeah, I should know. I get to be his right hand woman." She rolled her eyes "Hey, it was great to see you. Call me sometime; I'd love to meet this hubby of yours." She winked and pushed past me smiling slightly.

I shook my head, smiling slightly as I made my way towards the office. Once I made my way to the outside of the door I knocked on it slightly.

"Come in." I pushed my way through the door which caused Terrance to stand up "Christine…"

Did he just pale? Yeah, I was sure that he did, if it was possible. "Terrance? I'd like to talk to you."

He shook his head "There's nothing to talk about."

I walked over and put my hands on his desk rather forcefully "Damn it, Terrance there's everything to talk about! That information! That false information where did you get it from!? Who gave it to you?"

He shook his head "I don't know. It was under my door one morning."

I backed off his desk "Anonymously."

He nodded "Exactly. There was hefty fund in it too."

I inhaled sharply "Thanks, for your cooperation." I tossed the badge on his desk "Just incase you're thinking about hiring me when all this blows over, I quit in advanced." I turned around and walked out of the room, much to Terrance's protests. I made my way outside and back into the car "Maurice, take me home, please."

"Is everything okay, Mrs?"

I rubbed my temples "yeah, I think." I lurched with the car and watched as the rain danced along the windows "Maurice…" I muttered "Maurice, why are you getting on the highway?"

"I'm sorry, so sorry." He muttered.

"Sorry? About what?" I unbuckled my seat belt and leaned forward "Maurice, you're scaring me." I looked at the speedometer "Slow down!" I reached for the door handle and yanked it, but it didn't open.

"It'll all be over soon, Miss. Daae."

I looked at him "what do you mean?! Where are we going?" I watched as the high rise that I had lived in was passing us quickly "Take me home!"

Maurice looked at me in the review mirror and smirked slightly "I'm not taking you home. I don't think you'll see home for a very, very long time."

I looked at him, thoroughly confused "What do you mean?"

He exhaled and shook his head "Are you really that idiotic?" he laughed slightly and looked at me in the mirror "Of course you are. Who do you think gave everyone that information about your bratty child, of your blackmailed marriage, of everything that was private?"

I gasped and looked at him "You…? For what?"

He laughed and shook his head "For what? For everything! Greggory promised me everything! All I had to do was spy on that freak show of a son and you. It was easier than I had imagined." He chuckled and stopped the car "Oh look, we're here."

I looked up at the tower we had arrived at "Greggory interprises." I mumbled, it was the place I had taken down myself. I watched Maurice get out of the car and I quickly dialed Erik's number and shoved the phone in my pocket, hopefully he'd answer and listen on.

**Authors note:** _juicy yes!? hopefully it was up to everyone's standards! i wrote it in a few hours (last friday and today) so hopefully everything is okay! I am hoping that i get my charger tomorrow, but i'm not too sure. I'm hoping that i do because it'll be easier for me to write. Cross your fingers! lol_


	16. Abused

"Ah, beautiful Christine…" a chilling voice shivered its way through my spine, causing my entire body to shake "You like how I say your name don't you?" He snickered and rubbed my cheek "it's a shame that my son won't know what happened to you isn't it? Perhaps he'll put that brat in foster care and move on with his life."

I closed my eyes, hoping that on the other end Erik had been listening. "Yeah, it will be a shame." I said, clearly. If I was going to die, and if Erik was going to hear me die; I wanted to at least sound confident.

Greggory snickered "people won't miss you, you know. Your parent's will be informed that you were suicidal. It will be dropped off… anonymously, as most everything is."

I turned my head and looked at him "You were the one who organized it, weren't you Greggory?"

He laughed "Of course I was."

I snarled at him "Why, you cost me my job! You slandered my name—"

A large hand collided with my cheek causing him to knock out one of my back teeth "Oh Christine, Naive Christine. You're really asking me why I did it? Is it not simple enough to understand?" I spit the tooth onto one of his shoes and he kicked me in the shin hard enough to send me to the ground "You're the little bitch that brain-washed my son into thinking what our family business was all about, was wrong!" A boot collided with the smaller part of my back "You took away our fortune! Our life's work." I looked up at him as he smiled down upon me "You're lucky you were in France; the Shark Fin Mafia isn't too kind and well, that little girl of yours…" he paused and chuckled "…well, if she's lucky she'll be going into foster care."

I looked up at him "You're a monster!"

He pushed my hair out of my face with his boot before he proceeded to give a swift kick to my stomach. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and listened to his laugh fade in and out "Christine." He kneeled down before me and slapped my cheek again "You're going to stay here, you're going to suffer like the little Bitch you are, you hear me?" I closed my eyes, refusing to answer him "I said, did you hear me?" he waited again but I didn't answer, I wasn't going to. "You leave me no choice" He picked my head up by my hair and slammed my skull into the ground, twice. "I will say this one more time, and one more time only, do you hear me?"

"Yes." I whispered. Where was Erik? Why wasn't he here yet? Did he answer the phone at all?

"Good." He dropped my head back on the concrete of his building and stood up again "Now you see Christine, I'm very good at lying. You remember, when you had told my son that you were pregnant, it wasn't hard to convince him otherwise. You see, his mother had a little bastard child out of wedlock as well. He doesn't talk about the child but he has a hard time believing women about things like that." Greggory stepped on the shin that he had kicked only minutes earlier, was it minutes? It seemed like hours "ah," He looked down at me as pain reared it's ugly head up my right leg "There's the snap. You see Christine, I've had to make my way through the Mafia. A man's reputation is all he has. You ruined it!" he smiled and bent down again, this time a small metal tip poked into the side of my cheek "Shall we mare your face the same way you had those men mare my sons?"

I spit blood out of my mouth before I spoke "They didn't do it!" I went to sit up but he stood on my arm, and once again, pain soared through my arm and the tale tell pop was heard "You had your goonies do it! You had them mare Erik, made it look like I did it, so he wouldn't love me anymore! You know it just as well as I do! I. would. Never." I inhaled sharply as pain overtook my body "hurt him!" I choked out before I passed out.

I woke up tied in a chair sometime later. I wasn't sure if it had been hours or even days. My arms were tied to the chair and were tethered together at the wrists, I couldn't feel my left arm, nor could I feel my left leg, which, like the right, was tied to the chair. The cell phone that was in my pocket was now removed. I closed my eyes tightly as pain made itself present in my lower abdominal. Once the pain subsided I opened an eye and took a peek down at my stomach. No blood seemed to pool on my shirt, so that was always a good sign; I at least wasn't gutted. I rolled head around, giving my neck a good stretch, and while pain was in other parts of my body, the sweet little massage I was able to give myself was sweet relief.

"Pretty, you're awake."

I looked up at the voice to see Maurice sitting in a chair at the other side of the room "So, the butler did it huh?" I coughed slightly at the scratchiness of my throat. Had I been screaming? Crying? Or was I just thirsty? If I was this thirsty, how long had I been here?

He chuckled "I suppose so, it's like a game of clue. The butler, with the led pipe, in the old abandoned warehouse." He pulled out a gun and looked down at it with surprise "oh, look at that, I got the answer wrong."

I closed my eyes, mainly to keep myself from laughing "You're pathetic!" I looked up at him, my eyes meeting his quizzical ones "want to know why? Look around you!" I tugged at my arm to show him the dirty factory, but my wrist was stopped by the harshness of the ropes that bound me to my chair "you're in an old abandoned bottling company, sitting in front of a helpless female, pointing a gun at her! You're pathetic!" I coughed and blood splattered on my shirt. Of course I was bleeding internally. "You could have had a life Maurice! A wonderful life!" I shut my eyes "You've chosen this life, I can't talk you out of it." I shook my head and swallowed what I could "But I have to ask you this, why? Why did you cost me my job? All my hard work… gone" I croaked quietly. I felt a tear slide down my face, for what? My lost job? A lost friend or a lost life?

He laughed loudly, making it echo though the building "Oh, you're so smart, aren't you Christine? Trying to make me change my mind? Hoping I'd cut you out of that rope? Save you?" he snorted in disgust "try again, sweets." He stood up and slowly walked towards me "you see Christine, I've been following every single move since you met Erik. Every single thing you've spoken, every little morsel of food that you consumed, I was there. Someway, somehow trying to get rid of you." He leaned his hands on my chair and tilted me back "Because it's my job. It was what I was hired to do. To keep Erik in the family business, not to let some hussy have her rounds with him." He rubbed his nose on my forehead "You want to know why Erik forced marriage on you?" He tipped the chair back a little further "Because I told him that you were with another man. How easy it was to get him jealous." He snickered and once again rubbed his nose on my forehead, what exactly had he planned on doing? "it was quite simple to convince him after he had seen you at the town hall meeting. Oh yes, I was there." He dropped the chair down, causing it to land on my toes "But, why don't we give him something to mourn over? How defiled your body was, before you were murdered."

"Now, Maurice.. you wouldn't want to do that." I listened to Greggory's smooth voice float over my ear drums and I welcomed it. Although he was ruthless, I was positive that I'd take his beating over anything Maurice was about to do to me. "You finally awoke." He looked at Maurice and punched him in the face "What did I tell you about the bitch, hm?" he grabbed Maruice's jaw and pulled him towards his face "I told you, that when the bitch wakes up, shoot her. Couldn't even do that could you?" Greggory pushed Maurice back and let go of his jaw "you." He turned around and looked at me "you think that your little cell phone trick worked? Whomever you were trying to call, it didn't work. They weren't on the phone." He pulled something out of his pocket, but I closed my eyes tightly. If it was another gun, I didn't want to see it "afraid of a little pocket?" He chuckled and I felt his hands on my face, except this time, they were covered by cool leather gloves and they were prying my eyelids open. "You're going to keep your eyes open!" He spat and slapped me on the cheeks a couple of times. "Don't forget to stay awake. Last time, you were out for a few days."

I gulped as hard as I could, which, honestly, wasn't very hard at all. "A few days?" I muttered. I had been here a few days, and Erik wasn't here to save me at all? Did he just hear the rustling in my pocket and thought I had pocket dialed him? Hopefully he was smart enough to realize that I was still working with my Razr, there was no possible way of a pocket dial.

Greggory nodded and leaned on the arms of my chair, releasing my toes from under it "You know, and I'm just saying this, but, I could keep you alive." He ran a hand down my jawline and nodded slightly "Yeah, you'd sell for a pretty penny. Fair skin, ah, but something would have to be done with that hair. Blond, I'd say. Men prefer blonds." He licked his lips slightly and once again dropped the chair on my toes "Ah, but you're broken. You're not worth it to fix up." He kicked my broken leg causing me to yell out in pain. "Shut. Up." He pulled my hair, pulling my neck back with it. "You're the biggest piece of shit on this earth Christine. You're worthless." He held my jaw tightly, just like he held Maurice's jaw. Except I felt like he was squeezing tighter "Perhaps…" he mumbled into my ear "Perhaps selling you broken, I could get a fortune. You can't run off, could you?" he smiled a crooked smile and let go of my hair but kept his grip on my jaw "Yeah, I believe we'll do that." He let me go and walked away "Maurice! Get the bleach!"

**Authors Note:** _I'm sorry, so sorry, I had to be so rude to Christine! I felt so bad but on the upside… I HAZ BANGS! Ehehehe __ Also, Halloween is coming up! I want to know what you all are going to be (after your review o'course ;D) I think I'm going as Belle from beauty and the beast, in her casual outfit. I'd love to find a gasmask and walk around going "are you my mummy?" buuut I can't :/ doctor who probs! Ha. I honestly can't remember if I spelled Greg's name as Greggory or Gregory. We're going with the two g's. I'm too lazy to look back and see._


	17. Sold

The smell of bleach was nauseating. The burning on my scalp had turned into a tickle and my hair had been cut up to my collar bones. I wondered how different I really looked; how awful it really was. A few times the sharp blade of the knife that was being used to cut my hair, collided with the back of my neck, and I would feel blood make its way down my back.

"Mr. Holloway?" I said weakly. How long was it before I died? A few more days? A few more hours? Hopefully within the next five minutes "I was wondering if I was to get a shower bef—"

His large fist came in contact with my face, causing blood to flow freely from my nose. At least I didn't hear the tale tell popping noise as I did with my arms and legs "Shut up. Whore's like you don't deserve showers." He went back to pouring the bleach on my hair, and for the next how many minutes, I remained silent. "Now…" he mumbled as he dropped the knife in my lap and walked away as if to admire his handy work "You're unrecognizable. No one will know it's you. Hell, you're looking a lot better than you did, but I still wouldn't buy you." He walked around me and picked something up off the ground "Look at you, you've got blood on your face—"

I smiled and looked up at him "You big disgrace. Kickin' your can all over the place."

My smile was soon replaced my screams as the object he picked up off the floor collided with my broken leg, and then again with the leg that had managed to remain unbroken, well, up to this point at least. "You're not witty!" He grabbed my jaw again, squeezing so hard that I thought another tooth might pop out. "Give me one good reason not to beat your face in with this, right here, right now." He held up what looked like a rusty heavy hook "You'll have the blood of a thousand sharks all over your beaten little body." So it wasn't rust. "You want to know what it feels like, to smell the blood of animals?" he lifted the hook and rubbed it gently under my nose, leaving a mark "Inhale it, it's intoxicating. The feel of the blood on your skin; makes you into a new person."

I watched him intently as he brought the hook up to his face, to smell it. A part of me was waiting for him to lick it, because the other part of me knew that he was crazy enough to lick it "why sharks?" I questioned.

He dropped the hook from his face and swung it around in a circle "Why sharks? Why not?" He looked at me, straddling my legs "I'm a bit tired, going to sit here, just for a minute." He hooked the end of the hook on the chair, wrapping the chain around my neck and pulling me down. He tied the other end of the chain on the arm of the other chair and then, kissed me on the top of my head before he stood up "You see, my mother, she was a bitch like you. Cheated on my father and had a bastard child with the man." I watched him intently, his nostrils flared and his eyes closed "I never spoke to the child, not one word." This story seemed familiar. Of course, it was the one that Maurice told me about Erik, but why? Were his story and his father's story similar? No, they couldn't have been. "Then one day, while on vacation to California, my mother took that bastard child of hers to the beach. Left me behind. Stupid bitch." He shook his head "well, the bitch decided to get her self-attacked by a damn shark. Killed her, instantly. Forced me to take care of that bastard." He shook his head "Took care of the slimy son of a bitch alright; Right in between the eyes. Framed it on my good for nothing father; son of a bitch got the death penalty, but I didn't care." He snarled "So, I made sure that every mother fucking shark out there, would pay the price that I had to pay." He licked his lips again and stood up. "Maurice, bring out the crane would you? We have to move this cow to the feed lot."

"Sir. If I may be bold, wouldn't it be easier to move her on a fork lift? She falls off we can simply run her over, forget that she even existed. She'd be crushed and it would be painful."

I watched greggory's feet move out of sight "Ah, Maurice, my good man. You're thinking right! A promotion should be in store for you soon. But rest assured, it won't be." I heard him laugh and I watched his feet move to the large industrial door "I'll do the honors and bring the car around, you handle the trash."

Soon, I was moved from the top of the forklift, which had to be the scariest moment in my life, and back onto the ground. Maurice worked diligently cutting the ropes away from my wrists and my now two numb legs. He kept the chain that was wrapped around my neck and carried me into the car, carelessly throwing me down. Then, he made his way to the front of the car and got in the drivers side.

"Look what I found." Greggory looked at me and smiled. When did he get into the back seat? Or was he already there and I just didn't notice him? "it's like a collar." He grinned like a school boy "But it's metal and will probably choke you a little." He leaned in and whispered in my ear "that's okay though, isn't it? Maurice told me that you and Erik like it a bit… dirty." He chuckled and took the chains off my neck "Although I don't know why you'll need a collar and leash." He clasped the metal around my neck and he was right, it did choke me, just a little. Quite honestly, I probably would have been turned on if it wasn't for the fact that I was in a broken, bloody heap about to be sold as a sex slave. "You'll probably be drug out on the stage, I should have them beat you a few times to show how obident you are, and how much you like it." He practically purred in my ear "Maurice, where's that burlap sack? I can't stand to see this face anymore."

"right here sir." I watched as Maurice's arm moved from the front seat to the back, and then my world went dark, and I too passed out.

I was awakened by the sound of a horn, or was it a horn? It was loud and obxinous, and I mostly wanted it to stop, and after a few seconds, it did. Then, the burlap sack was removed from my face and lights shone brightly into my eyes. I flinched slightly but then was knocked around a few times by someone I couldn't see. Once my eyes got adjusted to the harsh white light, I took in my surroundings. I was no longer in the car, although I should have known that. The room I was in was as big as a standard sized living room, except instead of being square, it formed a perfect circle. The floor was white, as was the cealing, but instead of white walls, blacked out windows replaced them. There were twenty windows each, at least six foot tall. There was enough room for the slave in the center of the room, so the people behind the windows must have been sitting down.

Looking in the blacked out window for the first time, I saw myself. I truly saw myself. I had been stripped down to my bra and underwear, which had been tattered and both pieces were torn in a few places. My eyes were blackened; my face was covered in blood. Blood spattered my chest, from the coughing fits I had back in the bottling factory. I was on my knees, which had my ankles in clasps on the floor, my wrists tied back, bending my back, back, exposing my chest a bit more. And my Hair, my beautiful brown hair was now a harsh yellow and had a choppy cut.

"Gentlemen! This piece of fine forbidden fruit was brought to us by our most loyal customer!" a voice rang out "She's a little beaten, but as you can tell, she likes it." I let my eyes search the room, looking for a speaker, anything "Both her legs are broken, so we can guarantee she won't be running away from you for a long, long time." He snickered and I listened for the snickers of the other men, but it was silent. "We're going to go over the rules, just once more." The disembodied voice rang throughout the chamber "turn the red light on when you're betting on her. She's a prize gentlemen, I'd hate to pass her up." He cleared his throat into the microphone "all clear on the rules?" I was confused, there was only one rule, rules was plural, meaning more than one. I was already beaten and he had practically given the advice to the men behind the windows permission to beat me more. "Okay, we're going to start the bidding at fifty thousand dollars." Above the blackened window, a red light came on, and then another, and then another, soon the whole room was lit up in red, casting a light glow on my already crimson face "Oh, I see I should have raised the first bet a little more. How about we ask a pretty penny for this beaut. One million dollars? Anyone? Ah, I see that she's not worth all that." I let my eyes search around the room, two lights remained. "Should we lower the bet again?" he laughed again. I imagined he looked like the Joker quite a bit, after all, he did sound like him "What's the fun in that? About 1.5 mil?" the two lights remained on "two? Four? Six! Six to room seventeen!" he sounded getty with excitement "Please, gentlemen escort this lovely lady to the back room so the gentlemen can look over and.. invest in his purchase! Thank you room seventeen!"

I sat there, bent in an awkward position, legs numb, arm numb, chest exposed for the room to see, for what seemed like hours. Then, the black window had opened and out came two burly men. I swore that only one of their arms weighed as much as I did, so it was easy to listen to their instructions, if they had spoken, that was. They clamped the metal around my neck once again untied my legs and arms and one of them drug me into the door while the other one followed behind closely. He was in charge of shutting the door.

"Stay here." One of the men mumbled as the other one put the burlap sack over my head and took off the collar.

I don't know how long I waited, all I remember was dozing off and becoming alert once again as the sound of the door opening caught my attention "oh for god's sake take that burlap sack off your head. I own you now, you have to listen to me."

I turned my eyes towards the floor and with my good hand, grabbed the burlap sack and raised it off my head "You don't own me. Nobody owns me." I felt a tear slip down my face and I quickly wiped it away.

I listened to the man make his way towards me, probably to claim his prize. Instead I was greeted with the man gently running his hands through my hair, which felt like heaven. His fingers moved away from the bleached disaster atop my head and made their way down my arms; goosebumps arose but I was sure it was because I was nervous. My legs were his fingertips next target and once they touched below my knees, I cried out in pain.

"I'm sorry. So sorry." He whispered "You're safe now, I promise, I won't do anything to hurt you."

At his statement, all the tears I had, streamed down my face and relief washed over me. He had bought me, to set me free.

**Authors Note:** _I picture the two brutes looking like the Stabbington brothers from tangled; But picture them how you'd like! I should also mention that this isn't how I expected the story to turn out. A lot of the time I just sit down and write, and let whatever comes to me, come to me and I write it. I named the story off a song I heard in dirty dancing and well, this fits perfectly with it, so I mean, I'm not complaining. Things have a way of turning out! Let me tell you a side story. Today, 10.18 I was supposed to start college again for a mini semester. I was extremely excited about the whole thing and to keep the story short, I wasn't able to go to class. It started at 12:00 and I thought it started at 2:00 __ my life._

_Also, expect updates on tuesdays now. I go to school Tuesday/Thursday therefore i won't have the car on Friday anymore so updates will be on Tuesdays until the mini semester is over (december 16) But I believe that the story is coming to an end soon and there won't be a need for this story to go on until december 16 but there are still 7 weeks left so who knows! But it is coming to an end soon!  
_


	18. Safe

"Hey," he stated as he tucked a short strand of hair behind my ear "will you look at me? Please?"

I shook my head, tears forcing their way out of my tightly closed eyes "I can't."

"what do you mean you can't?" He got up off the couch and sat infront of me, grabbing my hands, the broken one gentler than the other.

"I'm afraid." I whispered

"afraid?" he whispered back causing me to nod "Afraid of what?"

"Of opening my eyes, and this all being a dream. If it's a dream, I don't want it to end. I want to be safe." I sobbed and tried to close my eyes tighter "I don't want to wake up and to be back at that factory."

He man seemed to chuckle a bit "But you're fine, Christine."

"I—How did you know my name?"

He placed a hand on my face, and stroked my cheek gently. "Just open your eyes, and look at me?"

I slowly opened my eyes and stared at my legs, how awful they looked. I moved my eyes to look at the man's body. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a tee shirt, although it was so faded it couldn't tell what it said. My eyes made their way up from his chest and onto his neck, and then finally his face, his wonderfully familiar face "Erik..." I weakly stated and leaned my face into his hand, no matter how much it had physically hurt "Erik…" I whispered again, tears falling out of my eyes "you-you're here…" I smiled slightly, the first time I had truly smiled in days. I put my hand upon his, pressing it against my face. "Why don't you sound like you?" I looked up at him.

"That would be me, ma'am." I looked at the guy who stepped away from the shadows, his hands were behind his back and he was dressed in what looked to be a very expensive suit. I clinged onto Erik tighter, but the man just smiled "It's alright, Christine. I'm Agent Steven Tip. I'll explain everything later, but first, we must get Erik out of here, and into the car before he's seen. Then we will escort you to the car."

I shook my head "no! I don't want to be left alone!" Erik moved away from me, kissing me gently before he left through what seemed to be a secret compartment "Don't leave me!" I yelled after him "Please!"

The man named Agent Steven stood in front of me "Christine, quiet. Please. We don't want them to come in while Erik is on the move. No one knows he is here."

I looked at him "Pardon me, Agent Steven Tip, please, enlighten me on to who you are, why my husband is leaving me and why exactly you bought me!"

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head, in the same way Erik did. "Well, I'm a friend of Erik's from college. This sex trafficking ring right here was set up by the FBI. All the men behind the windows are all FBI agents and all the husbands that these women are legally married to. Most of the women here, like yourself, have been kidnapped. Into each ring that comes in here, we have a guy on the inside. Erik's father was a well-known seller here, so when one of the guys saw you, he tipped us off, I, in turn, tipped Erik off. Of course the money he spent was not real, as none of the money is." He sat down next to me and looked at me "Mr. Holloway is a special case. We have more on him than his hamper has clothes, than he had money in his wallet. We'll get him, I promise you."

I looked at my knees and shook my head slightly "I really just want to go home."

Steven smiled warmly at me and rested a hand upon my shoulder "Christine, as much as you'd love to get back home, we have to take you to the hospital first. You're badly hurt."

I closed my eyes and shrugged his hand off my shoulder "I'd like to get home to my baby girl." I gasped slightly and looked at him "Emma! Where is Emma!"

Steven looked at me "Erik took care of Emma, I promise. She's safe."

I seemed to relax a great deal under the smolder of Steven "Please, help.. stop the hurting." I whispered before I once again fell into a state of blissful unconsciousness.

"mommy?" I heard a voice, but my eyelids wouldn't peel apart from one another "Daddy, she's not waking up."

I heard a soft chuckle "Try again. Be careful, she's hurt."

"mooommmmyyyy." Emma chided "Mommy!" I heard before I felt my cheek get wet "Daddy, she won't wake up."

Erik chuckled and I felt the weight lifted off my body "Well, she's really, really tired. I don't think licking her cheek worked."

"But I want to tell mommy all about Mickey!"

"I'm sure she'll love to hear about it when she wakes up. How about we take you to Grandma and Grandpas house?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah?!" Erik chuckled "You just got back from there; you're not tired of them yet?"

"Nope!"

"Hey Christine" I barely felt a hand grab at mine, it must have already been placed in a cast "you have to wake up sometime you know." Erik sighed and I felt a pressure on my right side "It's been two weeks, Emma's always asking about you when we're at home." He sighed "When she's here she likes to sit on the end of the bed and play with her Barbie dolls. She even takes naps with you." I listened to the sound of Erik breathing a bit harder "I just want you to come back to me… I'm so lost—" He choked "I'm so lost without you."

I heard a small tap on the door and I felt the pressure leave my side, where did it go? Where was Erik "Mr. Holloway?"

"Ah, Doctor Hartman, pleasure to see you!"

"Likewise, Mr. Holloway." There was a pause and then the doctor spoke again "I was hoping I'd catch you today. We gave your wife a brain scan last night and then again early this morning. The good news is that the swelling has gone down, tremendously and we should be able to pull her out of the coma by possibly next week, if the brain swelling goes down completely. But, she's making wonderful progress so we're expecting it to happen."

I heard relief in Erik's voice "Oh, that's wonderful."

"Yes, we like to think so too." The doctor cleared his throat "There is something else I'd like to talk to you about-"

I lulled my head to one side and groaned slightly. The beeping of the machines and the pounding in my head was enough to wake anybody up from a coma. I opened my mouth to talk, but it was extremely dry and after a few attempts to talk, I finally gave up. The room was empty, except for Erik who was asleep on the couch. He looked disheveled; his unshaven face was resting against a pillow, his mask half on and half off. He had changed clothes since I last remembered, but instead of jeans, he wore sweat pants and a field hockey tee shirt. Oh, how I had missed this man.

I raised my arm up and examined the cast. It was a bright purple that went up to my elbow and was covered with drawings that came from a tiny hand. I smiled slightly as I took my other hand and traced over the drawings, how I had missed my little girl. I blinked slightly as my vision went blury for a second, I couldn't tell if they were tears or if I had just moved too fast and caused myself to get dizzy. I shook my head slightly and pulled the covers off my legs, where two casts decorated both left and right. One was pink and the other was green; obviously picked out by my child. My hand went up to my head and I found that my hair was still there, and as I pulled a strand away from my head, it was still the annoying bleached color. Gauze decorated my forehead and wrapped around my head. Where did Greggory slam my head into the ground? I couldn't remember if it had been the back, or one of the sides, but either way, my whole head hurt.

I lifted an arm and placed my nose in my night gown, producing a scrunched nose and closed eyes. What did an unconscious girl have to do to get a shower around here? I pushed myself up into a sitting position with my good arm and stretched. How good it felt. Little mewling noises escaped my lips as my eyes closed enjoying the sensation.

"Christine!"

I opened my eyes and looked at Erik who was now in a sitting position, eyes wide open as if he had seen a ghost. "Erik!" I croaked painfully, and opened my arms to welcome my husband, who gladly put himself in my embrace.

"Oh Christine!" he placed a kiss gently on my lips as he held my head loosely in his hands "You're awake!" he smiled and gasped slightly "Oh! I have to tell the nurses!" he stood up and ran out the door, tripping slightly causing me to chuckle.

A few minutes after Erik had left, a scuffle of nurses entered the room. Some took my blood pressure, some took my temperature and one even brought me a wonderfully refreshing glass of ice water. My vitals were checked, my blood was drawn, my eyes were looked at and they made sure I knew who I was, who my husband was and if I knew what year it had been; the standard check for amnesia. I listened to the nurses talking about medication and getting a scan as soon as possible, to make sure the swelling around my brain had went down to the point of disappearing.

"Erik.." I looked up at him and held out my hand "I'm sorry. So sorry." I was sure tears would fall out of my eyes, if I had any to spare.

He grabbed my hand and sat on the edge of my bed "sorry? About what? There's absoutley nothing to be sorry about." He kissed the exposed fingers "You're here, you're alive, you're back to me." He stroked my cheek gently

I shook my head and shied away from his touch which pained Erik, as the expression on his face changed "No, I'm sorry that I left," I looked up at him "That I left the house that day. If I had just listed to you instead of caring about that stupid job…" I felt tears slide down my face, there they were.

"No, No, Christine, sweetheart, you did what you thought was right." He rubbed the top of my thigh in a soothing gentle way "You did what you thought was right, when you called me. I listened to the whole conversation, until the line went dead. I heard everything that happened and had the brilliant idea to record most of it." He smiled proudly "I had the police try to track you down, found the cell phone at my fathers old factory but there were no signs of you, or that you were there. They must have moved you and removed any evidence."

I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply "there was a time that I had passed out, they told me I had been asleep for four days. When I woke up I thought I was in the same place, it looked the same… to me at least."

Erik nodded "Yeah, you went missing for about a week. We looked everywhere for you. I had to tell your parent's everything. About you and I, the whole wedding and how you were missing. They wanted to come up and help search but I didn't want to put emma in danger. I transported your parent's and Em to Disneyland in California where they stayed up until about a week ago. They were safe the whole time, and racked up quite a bill." Erik winked, causing me to smile a bit. "Ah, there's that beautiful smile."

I blushed slightly, and looked down at my lap "one of my back teeth were knocked out, I was hit so hard." I felt my hands starting to shake "oh Erik…" my eyes moved from my lap up to him "It was awful." I went silent for a moment "at one point, I just wished that someone had the common decency to just kill me, put me out of my misery. But I always thought about Emma, and you, and I remembered how I couldn't just leave you two. So I tried to make the best out of a bad situation and…" I put my face in my hands "And here I am! I'm alive" I mumbled "I'm alive."


	19. Explosions and Wet Willies

A slight tap came at the door causing Erik and I to look away from the card game that we had been playing.

"MOMMY!" Emma ran from my mother's side and jumped on my bed, with a little help from Erik, of course. "You woke up!" She giggled and touched my face slightly "you took a really, really long nap." She backed up slightly and put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side "are you sure you're going to be tired tonight?"

I laughed slightly and pulled the little girl into a tight embrace "Yes, Em. I'm going to be so tired tonight."

"Good!" She grinned and sat next to me, swinging her legs "can you read me a bed time story tonight?"

I looked at her and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear "Well, mommy isn't coming home tonight. She has to stay here just a little while longer."

"Awww." She crossed her arms and pouted.

My mother smiled and made her way towards the bed, plucking Emma off and setting her gently on the floor "Why don't you play with your barbies sweet pea?" my father slid off a bag and unzipped it quickly handing it to Emma on the floor. "Oh, Christine." My mother wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tightly. It hurt, but I didn't want her to let go.

"Mommy" I sobbed into the crook of her neck, a girl was never too old to need her mommy.

"Erik told us everything that has happened in the past couple of months." My father sat on the other side of my bed and grabbed my hand "Seems like you both changed each other, for the better for him, I'd say."

I smiled and looked down at my father's hand on mine "Oh daddy.." I reached up and hugged him squeezing him as tightly as I could.

A loud sound came from the hall, interrupting the tiny family reunion that my parent's and I were enjoying. "What the-?" My father got up off the bed and made his way to the door "There better be a good explanation about this. This is the top hospital in this-"

My father was cut off as a large body pushed him into the door "Christine!" Cal stood, panting, grabbing at his knees.

"For christ's sake son!" My father grumbled and rubbed at his shoulder.

"Sorry dad." Cal made his way towards me and scooped me up into his arms "You're okay! I was so worried about you!"

I smiled and inhaled the slight bit of cologne he had on "Oh I missed you too! So much!" I broke away from the hug and laid back down on my bed "You're in your Army uniform?"

He nodded "Yeah, I was en route to the middle east the day you were kidnapped. You don't call much anymore, so I wouldn't expect you to know." He winked dramatically and it caused me to laugh, which also hurt "I just got back, took my leave early just so I can check up on my baby sister, and that little monster." He looked down at Emma.

I smiled and looked at him "Well, that little monster was well taken care of by Grandma and Grandpa and of course her daddy." I lazily pointed to Erik, who was sitting awkwardly on the couch "Cal, that's Erik, Erik, this is Cal." I shot a look to Cal who, at one point, was ready to shoot Erik point blank.

"Pleasure to meet you, cal." Erik smiled and stood up extending his hand.

"Nah, the pleasure's all mine man." I watched as Cal took Erik's hand and they shook, civily. Perhaps Erik talked to Cal, or perhaps our parent's talked to him about the whole Erik thing. All I knew was by the time my mother and father had gotten ready to leave with Emma for dinner and a movie, Cal and Erik were talking like old buddies.

"Are you hungry?"

I shrugged slightly and looked up at him "Not really."

Erik sighed and looked down at me "you have to eat something, I don't think you've eaten anything solid in weeks. Mashed potatoes?"

I smiled and nodded slightly "with gravy?"

He laughed and nodded "yeah sure, with gravy."

I grinned and nodded "yeah, I'll eat some of that." I listened to my tummy gruble and I laughed "Some turkey too?"

He got up off the edge of the bed "yeah, Bob Evans?"

I grabbed my stomach and nodded "YES! Please!" I laughed and grabbed his hand "Erik, don't go. Please? I'm sure Mauri-" I shook my head and grabbed his hand "I'm sure someone will deliver it."

He sat back down and nodded "Yeah, I can have someone pick it up, and bring it here. I just have to order it."

I smiled and nodded "Perhaps your Agent friend. The one who helped save me? I'd like to thank him, personally."

Erik laughed and nodded "Sure, I'm just going to step out for a quick second make a few calls and then I'll be right back."

I nodded and watched him leave, how I hated to see him go, even if it was just out the door. I heard him speak diligently on the phone and took in my surroundings of the hospital room once more. Nothing changed from this morning, the room looked virtually the same except the TV was on. I squinted at it for a second to make out what the moving picture was doing and I realized that there were ambulances and fire trucks, something was on fire. I strained to listen to it but the sound of Erik talking in the hallway made it practically difficult. Quickly I searched for the bulky white remote and turned it up.

"…Larry, we've just got reports that firefighters believe the explosion of the old Greggory Bottling Company came from inside the factory around 9:54 this evening. The company has been out of commission for about four years. Police think that this attack may have been random act of violence but when the flames are out tomorrow morning, they intend to construct a full investigation. Live from Greggory Bottling Company this is Channel Five news."

I gasped slightly and put the tv remote down as the man on the TV started to talk "Thanks Alice. Now we just got a report that two bodies have been pulled from the wreckage, we do not know if they are alive or not, but we will keep you posted on their conditions later."

I turned the TV down again and looked at the doorway "Erik!"

Erik made his way into the room quickly, his phone still up to his ear "I put the food in your name.. I'll talk to you when you get here." He pressed the screen and slid the phone into his pocket "What's wrong?" He made his way over towards me and started to inspect my cuts and bruises.

"I'm fine." I mumbled as he turned me on my side to inspect the cuts on the back of my neck "It's just that I saw something on Channel Five news that I thought you might be interested in." I waited until Erik gently laid me back down and I looked at him intently "it's just that…" I looked at my lap "Your father's factory has burned down. Two bodies were found inside." I watched as Erik's face faltered for a second but then instantly hardened "You didn't… did you?"

"No, of course I didn't." he rubbed his temples and looked at me "not exactly, anyway." I gaped at him and he held up his hands "I didn't set the building on fire, that's for certain. I might have hired someone to do it for me?" he looked up from underneath his eye lashes which caused me to cross my arms and turn my head "Oh come on Christine! I didn't think anyone would have been in there." He sighed and moved some of my bleach blond hair out of my face "I'm sorry."

I sighed and looked at him "Sorry? You're sorry? You're an accomplice to murder, Erik. I can't—" I put a hand on my forehead and closed my eyes tightly; moved too fast. "Look. Even if it was an accident killing those two people in the explosion, what happens if one of them was your father? What happens then hm?" I opened my eyes slowly to watch Erik's face ease "What happens if they find out who did it, then they squeal on you? I can't lose you again Erik." I placed a hand on his face and stroked his cheek gently with my thumb.

"Is that all you're worried about? Losing me?" he let out a hearty chuckle and kissed me gently, he pulled back slightly and rubbed his nose on mine and I nodded slightly "You don't have to worry about it, Christine. I promise. Everything is taken care of, right to the very last detail. You see, it will look like a complete and total accident. Like someone was trying to turn on the machines after years of being inactive; things like that happen you know. The two guys there, they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it will just validate the story even more."

"but what if it's actually your father?"

He sighed and rubbed a hand down half of his face "Then the bastard got what was coming to him." He mumbled and I gasped slightly "Well it's true! Look at you! Look at what he did to you, Christine!"

I gently touched his arm and frowned slightly "I can be repaired. Death is a perminate solution…" I chewed on my bottom lip "He could get life in prison—"

Erik laughed slightly and looked at me "Life? In prison? Do you know how well they treat their inmates? Too well! They treat them better than they treat America's poor or their sick. The prison here has flat screen televisions, nutritious meals, warm water, exercise; that's not the way he should live for the rest of his life."

I sighed and grabbed at his hand "If it is him, you are going to throw him a funeral, aren't you?" I brought the hand up to my face and gently kissed his fingers "it's proper, even if you do hate him."

He sighed and looked at me "I suppose. If that's what you want."

I smiled slightly and nodded "Yes, it's exactly what I want." I scooted over on the bed a bit and let go of Erik's hand, patting the pillow "Lay with me? I missed it." I smiled as he laid down and wrapped an arm loosely around my waist "goodnight, Erik."

"Goodnight, Christine." He mumbled in my ear before he had drifted off to sleep. I stayed awake, thinking about the things Erik had said. Was he really okay if it was his father who had been pulled out of the wreckage? What about Maurice? Would I have been okay with it being him? A part of me was hoping that it had been, that the nightmare I had endured for over a week had died with them. I remember wishing that they would die, that the whole place should have been engulfed in flames, me included, just so they'd die, and here it was. The whole place had engulfed in flames, two bodies had been pulled out of the wreckage, two people had died. Yet here I was, remorseful. Emma probably lost a grandfather, Erik probably lost a father, I probably lost a kidnapper. Either way; Emma wouldn't know, Erik wouldn't care and I would pretend to go on with my life, like it had been normal—like I still had a job, like none of this happened.

I fell asleep sometime during the nights after my thoughts had consumed me and threw me into a peaceful slumber. I woke sometime around noon, to a little girl playing on the floor, a man in his army uniform lounging on the couch and the TV on, on mute.

"Mommy!" Emma smiled and looked up to me "Uncle Cal, She's awake!"

He chuckled and got up from his lounging position "I heard." He looked over at me and smiled "Hey, Chris."

"Cal." I smiled and held my arms out to him, embracing him tightly. "Where's Erik?"

"Oh, he got a call on his cell phone a few hours ago. He said that he had to go to the cororners office for something. I think that the men that were pulled out of the wreckage yesterday—I think one of them was his father."

I gasped slightly and put my hand up to my mouth "You do?"

He nodded "yeah, why else would they have called him?" he shrugged "by the way, when did you get bob evans and not eat it?" he nodded toward a bag that was sitting on the set of drawers across from my bed.

"Oh!" I put a hand on my forehead and looked at him "Erik's friend must have brought it in last night! I was so hungry so Erik had ordered it for me, had his friend bring it. We must have been so tired!"

Cal laughed and nodded "Yeah, you must have been. You never turn down bob Evans."

I laughed and looked at the bag hopefully "Think it's still salvageable? Ya know, Edible?"

Cal laughed "yeah, and probably super soggy and cold."

I scrunched my nose "No thank you." I bit my lip and looked at him "can you, help me? Just for a few minutes?"

"Sure, whats up?"

I pointed to a door and looked at him "I really have to go to the bathroom, but I uh…" I pulled back the blankets on my legs "Can't exactly walk."

He laughed and nodded "Sure thing, Kid."

He scooped me up in his arms and I wrapped an arm around his neck "Just because I'm a few years younger than you, doesn't give you the right to call me Kid." I stuck my tongue out and in a quick second my tongue made contact with his rough cheek and moved upward.

"Jesus, Chris! That's disgusting!" Cal put me down on the toilet and rubbed his cheek "You're sick."

I laughed and waved him out "Leave me be!"

"don't forget to wash your hands before you call me back in, sicko."

I laughed "What if I don't?"

"well, you're going to be sitting there a long, long time because I promise you, I won't be helping."

I laughed "Fine. Leave, so I can use the bathroom!"

He looked at me before sticking his tongue out and shutting the door behind him.

"Calvin!" I leaned over the sink, sticking my hands in the water "Calvin I'm finished!"

The door opened up and my brother walked in laughing slightly "Well, if you're not a worse sight for sore eyes!" He stuck his tongue out "need help?"

I shook my head "Nope!" I dried my hands on the skirt of my hospital gown and held my arms out for him. Quickly he picked me up and walked out of the bathroom, quickly placing me back onto my bed. In an instant I felt something wet enter my ear and I screamed "Cal! That's disgusting!"

He laughed and wiped his finger on his pants "turnabout is fair play."

I rubbed my ear "No it's not! Wet willies are disgusting! Besides, Emma could have been watching, think of what you just taught her."

"That I'm the better one and you're not?" He questioned before sitting back down on the couch.

I laughed and shook my head "No. not in a million years." I smiled at him gently and shrugged slightly.

"So," Cal sat on the side of my bed again and laid down a box of cards "have the doctors told you all that was wrong with you when you came in here?"

I took the cards from the box "You mean besides my horrendous hair do?" I laughed slightly but Cal scowled. I at least tried to make light of the situation. "Yeah. They did, well, Erik at least. He told me that I was severely dehydrated, I had a horrible concussion that the doctors are surprised didn't cause any amnesia. Both my legs were broken, my arm was broken, A few ribs were broken, internal bleeding from somewhere, not too sure where; a few major cuts on the back of my neck and along my stomach. Two black eyes and lots of minor cuts and bruises; they said that I was getting malnourished and said a feeding tube helped get a lot of what I lost back." I smiled and passed out the cards evenly "But here I am, alive and slightly well."

A tiny knock came at the door causing both Cal and I to look up. "Mrs. Holloway." He nodded curtly to me and looked at Emma playing on the floor. A smile played on his lips before he looked up to Cal and I "I'm sorry, do you mind if I have a few words alone with Mrs. Holloway."

Cal looked at me and I nodded slightly "I'll be fine with him, I promise." I smiled and patted Cal's arm "Go take Em for some frozen yogurt downstairs or something. I'll call your cell when you can come back."

He nodded and shot at the man in the suit "Okay Chris, call me if you need anything. I'll be right down stairs." He got up off the bed and picked Emma up off the floor "Hey little monster, want to go get some ice cream!?"

She giggled and nodded "ICE CREAM! YEAH!"

Cal laughed "Let's go!" As he threw Emma over his shoulder he shot a look at the man in the suit again before sauntering out.

The man awkwardly stood in the doorway for a second before he moved in and shut the door behind him "I'm not sure if you remember me, I'm Agent Steven Tip from the FBI."

I smiled warmly at him and nodded "Of course I remember you, please sit." I motioned to the couch.

"Thank you." He made his way toward the couch and sat down "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask you questions about your abduction…"


	20. FBI Interviews and casts

I pushed a piece of hair behind my ear and looked at my lap "where would you like to start?"

Steven pushed a button on the voice recorder and leaned back on the couch "Where ever you'd like to start but, why don't we start from the moment you were abducted."

I nodded and looked at my hands "Well, I had went to the aquarium to see why I had been fired. It was obvious that someone was trying to get me fired. My boss looked frightened, like he wasn't supposed to tell anyone anything on the true reason that he fired me. I-" I looked up at the figure who entered the room and breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was Erik. Steven nodded and Erik nodded in return, sitting on one side of my bed "I told him that in case he ever wanted to hire me back, I quit." I chuckled slightly "Then I got back into the car with our butler—I think he's a butler. He did so many things for Erik and I, he was more than just a butler. But I had told him to go home, and he didn't. He missed the exit on the highway and he was driving at such high speeds that I was fearful for my life then and there. He spoke to me about something—" I shook my head "I forget now, I can get back to it if I remember it, yes?"

Steven nodded "of course you can."

I nodded and looked up at Erik "It was then that I had the bright idea to call Erik. I was hoping that the cell phone call would go through and that if it did, I was hoping that he knew something was wrong and stayed on the phone."

Erik nodded "I did."

I smiled and looked over to Steven "We ended up at Greggory bottling company and I saw him. He was different than the first time I had seen him-"

Erik looked at me "You saw him once before?"

I nodded "yeah, the night of the black tie affair.."

He rubbed his chin and closed his eyes "That was probably why you were acting so weird, that night."

"Erik.." Steven gave him a look, causing me to giggle slightly "while that's important, it's not relevant at the moment, we'll get to that." He smirked slightly, obviously loving being in charge with Erik around "please, contuine Mrs. Holloway."

"Greggory saw me, he called me beautiful. I knew then that something was wrong, that I might die. I wanted to be sure that if I was to die, and someone was going to hear me, I wanted to die with confidence. He told me that people wouldn't miss me if I was dead, that it would have been made to look like a suicide that all the information would have been dropped off anonymously. I realized that he was the one who had organized everything—from slander to me losing my job, my career. He smacked me, so hard." I placed a hand on my cheek and closed my eyes, trying to prevent the tears from falling, but they effortlessly slipped past their fleshy barrier and slipped down my cheeks "So hard that one of my back molars popped out. I had the bright idea to spit it on his shoe, blood and all but it only caused me more pain." Erik went to touch my face my I gently shied away from him "He kicked my shin and once I was on the ground he kicked me more. Mentioned something about Emma not being safe—"

Erik nodded "But she was, I made sure of it."

I smiled and patted his leg "it's okay, sweetie, I've got this." I wiped the tears away from my face and laughed slightly at how baffled Erik had looked. "He liked to kick, he kicked me multipule times when I was on the ground, in the stomach, in the lower back, he slammed my head into the concrete twice. He told me about how he had convinced Erik that the child wasn't his, how I had ruined his reputation and -" I closed my eyes and looked up at Steven "that's all I can really remember."

Steven looked at me and nodded "Do you remember how you felt at all? The emotions?"

I ran a hand through my hair and looked at him "You want to know how I felt Agent Tip? I felt like I was dying. You want to know the emotions I went through? I wanted to die. Simple as that. I wanted the whole place to burn to the ground and I wanted to die along with the two men that had caused me so much pain; my family so much sorrow."

Steven looked down at the recorder and then back up to me "do you remember anything about the surroundings?"

"Before or after I had came out of my first week long coma?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side

"Both, if you wouldn't mind."

I sighed and looked at him "They looked the same; both places that I had been moved to. The only thing that was different from me waking up was the auction room where I was placed. I wanted to die there too."

"can you remember the settings? Describe them for me?"

"They were both very dirty, a lot of dirt decorated the floor and dust was floating it's way through the air, it sometimes danced infront of me before it rested in my hair or on my legs. It was something you'd find in a horror movie; places like this make Hollywood."

"While you were in a coma, your husband agreed to have a rape test done on you. Before I get to those results, I'd like to ask, did they rape you or make you preform any sexual favors for them at all?"

I shook my head "No, not while I was conscious anyway. Maurice was getting close to it once, but Greggory stopped him. I don't know if it was because he actually felt a bit of remorse, or if he didn't want me to be 'ruined' when I had got to be sold."

"Ruined? What do you mean, ruined?"

I shrugged "Already tampered with by the seller? I don't know. I couldn't explain it, all I know is I felt like he didn't want me to be ruined."

Steven nodded and pulled out a sheet "You'll be pleased to know that the rape test came out negative. You weren't messed with in or out of the coma while you were in possession of the two men. Have to give them credit somewhere." He snorted.

I looked at him and yawned "I'm so sorry Steven, but I'm quite tired. I'm going home in a few days I believe; would you like to finish your interview then?"

He nodded, grabbed the voice recorder and hit stop "yeah, I think that's okay. We've got enough for now. I hope you have a speedy recovery."

I smiled and nodded "I hope so too. Thank you, for helping me. For saving me." I looked back at Erik and then at Steven again "The both of you. Thanks."

"no problem. It's what I'm here for." He nodded and walked promptly out of the room.

"I'm exhausted, I'm going to take a nap, if you don't mind. Emma is downstairs with Cal. Perhaps you could take her home or convince Cal to take her home. She needs her nap." I yawned and closed my eyes "Like… me."

"Mrs. Holloway!" the doctor made his way into the room that I was in and smiled "You're looking a lot better."

I laughed and nodded "I should be! I've been here three weeks already."

He laughed and nodded pushing the glasses up on his nose "Well, how is your physical therapy for your legs going?"

I snorted "How do you think they're going?" I smiled and laid my head on my pillow "they're going great. Patrick thinks that I'm improving a lot faster than I should be. When do I get to take the casts off?" I grabbed the hanger and shoved it down the top of the cast "they're so itchy and they're starting to smell!"

He smiled and sat down on the bed taking one of my legs in his lap "Well, it's good that you're progressing so fast. I think it's because you're doing your excersices here in your room late at night." I blushed slightly "yeah, I know about that. Your nurses caught you walking to your bathroom. You have to be careful. You may have things to hold onto but if you fall you could break your legs and your arm again. All three are making superior progress." He moved a few fingers around my knee and then turned my leg gently in a few directions "As for taking your casts off, I'd say about another two to three months. Before you leave here for good though we'll replace them." He nodded and moved to the other side of the bed and repeated the same thing. "Where is your husband?"

I shrugged "I think he took our daughter to the park. She's been a ball of energy and loves playing in the physical therapy office. He and I both thought that it would be better if we just took her to the park." I laughed.

"Ah, so she's the one tearing up all the equipment." He looked over at me and winked "well, I think that you can go home today. If you'd like, that is."

I gasped slightly and nodded "yes!"

He laughed and stood up from the bed, grabbing his clipboard "Woah, don't get too excited now. Makes us think you don't want to see us!" he laughed.

I smiled and shrugged "maybe I'll come back and visit. Not anytime soon though."

He shrugged "Sometime soon actually. You have therapy and to get these casts off. We're going to go ahead and replace them, they're looking a bit grimey." He grinned slightly "before we put the new ones on we're going to take x-rays to see how they're healing. Hopefully they will be off sooner than you think.

I smiled slightly and nodded "Thanks."

He smiled and looked down at his chart "You're welcome. I'll get everything situated for you and send you down to get everything done by the time you come up, I'll have your discharge papers ready for you!"

I smiled and nodded "great! If you wouldn't mind.. could you call my husband? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to know."

"Okay, are you ready to get these casts off for good?"

I nodded and clapped my hands together "yes! I've been waiting for this day since I got my arm cast taken off!" I laughed and wiggled my legs slightly clinking the two casts together at the toes. The doctor cleared his throat and I blushed slightly "sorry, I've been hanging around my daughter too much."

The doctor laughed and nodded "Okay… hold still."

The sound of the drill grinded at my teeth, caused my eyes to close and my body to tense up. "I don't have any scars!" I yelled over the sound of the drill.

"That's great!"

"Yeah," I smiled and looked at him "Erik and I are moving in a few days." I smiled and bit on my bottom lip.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, we're moving to France. His father's death hit him pretty hard, so we decided to move." I laid back and looked at the cealing, a little white lie wouldn't hurt, would it? None of us were actually surprised that Greggory's body was found in the ruble alongside Maurice's. The news report had said that it looked like they were trying to get the factory up and running again when something went wrong with one of the machines, something that Erik had told me. The police told Erik that it had been ruled an accident and left it at that. Erik ended up enhierting the rest of the money his father had, which was just used to pay for the funeral that virtually no one attended aside from Erik and his family. In that time I had learned that the story Maurice told me about Erik, had actually been Greggory's story, but no one knew why he had decided to make it Erik instead.

"well that's great."

I smiled and nodded "yeah, but um…" I looked at him as he cut the last bit of the cast "I was wondering if you could possibly do something for me?"

"Anything for my best customer—er patient" He winked.

**Authors Note:** _so I looked back, noticed that I spelled Greggory as Gregory. I personally like Greggory more. To me it makes him seem a bit more evil than just Gregory. So I'll keep the spelling as Greggory and pretend that earlier in the story he was just Greggory; as always. I'm sorry for being inconsistent but I figured I should let everyone know! Also, I didn't know what to write for this chapter; I was bored at school and thought I'd write so you get this. Ha. Also, you can make up whatever the doctor said to Erik. I'm leaving that part up to you fine folks! _


	21. Off To Paris

"Are you ready to go?" Erik leaned in the doorway as I looked around the empty room. All the beds had been donated to charity, but everything else had remained. "Your parents are already trying to move their stuff in while we're still here." He chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist "good to see that you're finally putting on weight." He mumbled into my ear as he kissed my neck.

I laughed and looked at him "I was in a coma for two weeks, never was really hungry during my hospital stay and now that I can eat real food again, of course I'm gaining weight." I laughed and laid my head back on his shoulder "I suppose we should get Emma ready for the flight."

Erik nodded and let go of me "I'll get her. Your phone is ringing." He motioned to the vibrating new iPhone that rested on the dresser "Perhaps it's your brother." He shrugged and walked out of the room.

I snatched the phone and slid it to answer "Hello?"

"Mrs. Holloway?" a female voice came floated into my ear

"this is she" I stated as I wrapped a bracelet around my wrist quickly.

"We have the test results for the test you took two days ago. We'd like to extend our congratulations to you and your husband. You're pregnant, about two months."

I slapped a hand over my mouth and tears welled up in my eyes "Thank you, so much." I smiled and quickly wiped the tears off my face, I didn't want to ruin my make-up.

"We're wondering when you'd be able to make a follow up appointment with us?"

I laughed slightly and ran a hand through my hair "Actually, I'm moving today. I won't be in this state, let alone this country anymore to set up an appointment." I chuckled slightly.

"Oh. We'll we wish you safe travels and once again, congratulations."

I listened to the phone go dead and looked at the blank screen. Erik and I were going to have another baby. I smiled and looked at myself in the mirror; of course I was gaining weight, little baby Holloway was coming, and to know for sure when, I made a mental note to find a hospital within the first week of entering France. I slipped my favorite pair of heels on and made my way out into the living room.

"Who called?" Erik looked up at me as he put Emma's jacket on.

I shook my head "Wrong number. I had to find my bracelet." I wriggled my arm letting the bracelet shine brightly in the light. "Mom, Dad." I walked over to them and embraced them in a tight hug "I'm going to miss you so much."

My mother wiped away tears as my father spoke "Oh, don't worry about us. We're just a phone call away. Always. Besides, it's just September, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before you know it and we'll be in France."

My mother smiled at the thought "We'll finally be in France! Can you imagine!" she shook her head and hugged me tightly "Oh, take care of yourself baby."

My stomach clinched at the word baby, until I realized she had been talking about me "I will." I hugged my father one more time and grabbed hold of Emma's hand "We should get going. Enjoy your new penthouse you two!" I pointed at them and laughed.

"Bye Grandma! Bye Grandpa!" Emma waved and looked at them "I'm going on a big pwayne again!"

I laughed and nodded "Yes, big!" I hugged my mom again "I'll call you both when we get to France. I promise, the moment we land, I'll be calling you!"

My father nodded "You better." He looked up at Erik "You better take care of my girls, Erik."

Erik nodded and smiled "I won't let them out of my sight, Mr. Daae."

My father laughed and clasped Erik on the shoulder "my good man. Now get going, the three of you."

I strapped Emma down in one of the leather seats of the airplane, her eyes dancing with excitement at all the cool things that it had compared to the planes she had on her way to Disney. I handed her a baggie full of crayons and a coloring book and once she was distracted enough, I sat in my seat and buckled myself in. Erik made his way from the cock pit a few minutes later and sat across from me, buckling himself in as well.

"We'll be taking off in a few minutes."

I turned my head from the window and looked at him "Alright, great." I smiled and looked back out the window. How was I going to tell Erik I was pregnant again? He had wanted another baby, or as many as we wanted, but I wanted to make it special, I was afraid I'd have another repeat of the first time.

"You okay?"

I nodded and looked at him "Yeah, just… just a lot of things on my mind. Finally leaving this place, all the bad memories and such, finally leaving them behind." I looked at him and smiled "I'm fine, really." I shook my head "Hungry actually."

He snorted causing Emma to look up from her Disney princess coloring book and make the same noise. Erik laughed and Emma went back to coloring "Hungry? You just ate not too long ago."

I shrugged "I just haven't been satisfied lately. I mean, since I can actually eat everything!" I laughed as I felt the taxi lurch forward to start taxing the runway.

Erik chuckled "Very true. What would you like?"

I thought for a minute as my body was gently pushed back into my seat as the plane elevated. "Uhm…" I closed my eyes, feeling like I was about to get sick. This never happened to me on planes before "you know what, nothing." I swallowed a lump in my throat "Absolutely nothing."

Erik looked at me confused "You sure? You were just starving not too long ago."

I nodded and opened my eyes as the plane leveled out "yeah, I'm sure. I feel half sick. I'm going to go lay down, if that's alright?" I questioned as I took my seatbelt off and stood up "You'll be okay with Emma?" he nodded slightly and I made my way back into the bedroom. I kicked my shoes off quickly and snuggled under the blankets. The satisfaction of closing my eyes and wishing the nausea away didn't come without a price. A few minutes after my eyes closed, I was forced up and into the bathroom, expelling everything that I had enjoyed for breakfast. I flushed the toilet and leaned my head against the tiny sink as I grew hot.

All I knew was that this was going to be one long flight.

Most of my morning sickness disappeared around lunchtime. Erik seemed concerned that I was getting the flu, or perhaps something worse. I had reassured him that I was fine, and that I had been nervous about flying all the way to France with Emma, leaving my family behind and starting a whole new life. Not that I was pregnant. No way. My fear of him leaving me again prevented me from telling him twice when he asked if I was okay… twice.

"Emma." I looked over at the three year old who had grown so much since before my little 'incident' "it's time to take a nap." I stood up and padded towards her.

"no!" she threw a crayon at me and I swiftly picked her up, much to her dismay causing her to kick and scream "I don't want to take a nappy!"

I smiled gently over to Erik who looked concerned as Emma's tiny fist collided with my cheek. My stomach dropped as I remembered the force of Greggory's hand across the same cheek "Emma!" I grabbed her hand and looked at her "You don't hit mommy! That hurts!" I chewed on my bottom lip, forcing tears back. Of course I'd be emotional. Of course none of my pregnancy symptoms showed up until I had found out. It seemed that this was how it always worked "Say you're sorry."

Emma was now crying like I had smacked her across the butt "I'm sorry!" She wailed and wrapped a tiny arm around my neck, embracing me in a hug.

I let go of her tiny hand and it automatically went around my neck. I rubbed at her back and coddled her; I'd always coddle her. "It's alright. Now, let's put you down for a nap."

"I'll take her Christine." Erik stood up and took Emma out of my arms. He placed a gentle kiss on my cheek and took her to the bedroom to lay her down for her nap. Five minutes later he waltzed out of the room like he was a champ "Five minutes into the story and she was out like a light."

I flipped the page of the magazine and smiled slightly "she must have been really tired. What story?" I looked up at him "we didn't bring any books on board."

He smiled and sat across from me, taking my feet into his lap "The phantom of the opera story, of course."

I smiled "that's the first story you told me when we came to Paris." I smiled again, moving my feet from his lap "Erik…" I exhaled deeply and tucked a leg under me, it was better here than somewhere on the ground "I have to tell you something, it's important and you have to promise that you won't leave again…"

"leave again?" he looked at me confused. Of course he would be.

"Erik…" I closed my eyes and chewed on my bottom lip. This was harder to tell him than the first time "Erik…" I exhaled deeply and opened my eyes to look at the face of my husband. The marred yet perfect face "I'm… I'm pregnant."

I watched Erik's face closely. It turned from confusion to pure joy in about two seconds. "you're… really?" a grin broke out along his face, so wide in fact I thought he was going to split his face in half. "How.. when?"

I laughed slightly and wiped away the tears that had fallen down my face "Remember that night in the hospital, when the nurse walked in…?" I blushed a deep red, and Erik did too "I'm eight weeks along. It has to have been that night." I laughed slightly and looked up at him "You're going to be a daddy Mr. Holloway"

He smiled and stood up, picking me up out of my seat, hugging me tightly "I'd never leave. Not this time. First time was a mistake, a young, stupid mistake and it's something I'm not going to make ever again." He nuzzled my neck "I watched you grow from afar, from newspaper pictures. I missed Emma's first steps, her first words, her first everything. I won't miss anything now." He placed gentle kisses along my neck and across my jawline before making his way to my lips "you're going to be a mommy Mrs. Holloway."

**Authors Note:** _Hello! The story is coming to an end, and soon! literally like two chapters left! :*( Super sad about it but I am working on something else (not really, but i'm about to start it! ha) I've actually been kind of busy for school this time around (there now, and the H button really isn't working so if you see a typo, then that's why!) even though i'm taking one class, but that's okay. I decided to give you this little AN to wish my fellow American people a HAPPY THANKSGIVING :) stuff yo self with turkey, and yummy thanksgiving fudz!_


	22. A Parisian Christmas

"Christine!" I poked my head out of the kitchen and looked at the male who was calling my name "I'm about to go pick up your parents from the airport." He wrapped a scarf around his neck and placed a hat upon his face, which was sans mask. He looked up at me and smiled slightly "Want to come?"

I shook my head "No! I'm busy!" I laughed and made my way from out behind the wall, my belly out ahead of me "I'm making Christmas dinner." I rubbed my hands on his shoulders and wrapped my arms around him "you should take Emma though, she'd love to see them again."

Erik wrapped his arms around the small of my back, pressing me into him slightly causing the baby to kick "ouch." He laughed and placed a kiss upon my lips "I believe that the baby is going to be a soccer player."

I looked at him and tugged on the scarf "or a ballerina." I smiled and made my way to the steps, which was elaborately decorated with green garland, Christmas lights and medium sized Christmas bulbs. I'd be the first to admit I went a bit hog crazy on the Christmas decorating this year, but I believed it was okay. It was Emma's first Christmas with a daddy, my first Christmas with a husband and more importantly our first Christmas as a family "I'll go get Emma." I smiled and waddled up the stairs, making my way into Emma's large room. "Hey munchkin" I smiled and leaned on the door frame crossing my arms watching her play "Want to go with Daddy to go pick up Grandma and Grandpa?"

Emma dropped her dolls and stood up "Yes!"

I laughed and picked her up putting her on the bed "Okay! Shall you go see them in your jammies or do you want to get dressed?"

She laughed "JAMMIES!"

I laughed and nodded "Okay. Socks!" I made my way over to her sock drawer and pulled out a pair "want to try?" She nodded and took a sock from me, placing it over her tiny little toes and pulled it up onto her ankle. It was lopsided but she did it. I handed her the other sock and it ended up on her foot with the same outcome "Let's go show daddy!" I gasped and picked her up, placing her on my hip.

"Mommy?" she placed a strand of hair behind my ear and looked at me intently as I slowly made my way down the stairs "Am I going to have a brudder or a seester?"

I laughed and shook my head "I don't know little one." I smiled and kissed her on top of her nose "We'll find out around dinner." I let my eyes dance with excitement and met Erik at the end of the grand staircase "Look daddy, Emma put her socks on all by herself!"

Erik smiled and hugged emma tightly "Very good!" he fixed her socks to where they were straightened out. I knew this little thing annoyed him, and quite honestly it annoyed me too. "Go find your snow boots."

I put Emma down and patted my tummy "I can't wait to tell you if we're having a boy or a girl tonight." I laughed and wrapped my arms around his waist "what do you want?"

He played with my hair absbentmindly as he pondered "I don't think I care. As long as it's a healthy baby." He kissed the top of my head and moved away from me to produce Emma's coat, hat and scarf from the closet. He slipped the coat onto her arms and buttoned it swiftly. He then wrapped the tiny pink scarf around her neck and placed the matching pink hat ontop of her head.

"Globs daddy. I need my globs!" she held out her bare hands.

"oh, I forgot." He kneeled down and reached in her pockets "ta-da!" she giggled and watched Erik put on her gloves. "There you go." He stood up "Say bye to mommy!"

"bye mommy! We're going to pick up grandma and grandpa!"

I laughed and bent down, kissing the top of her head "I know. Have fun." Emma wrapped her arms around my legs and released them "Be careful." I hugged Erik one more time and kissed him, prolonging it.

"I promise." He kissed me again.

I pulled away and laughed "Erik, stop. Last time it led to a make out session and after that…" I patted my tummy "Well, you know." I laughed and kissed him again. I couldn't get enough "Maybe tonight." I whispered in his ear "Now go!"

_

I listened to the door open and voices floated their way through into the kitchen.

"Oh. Look at this honey!" a female voice made me smile, my mother "It's so elaborate! Erik! This house! It's gorgeous!"

"A little over decorated." A gruffy voice mentioned

Erik laughed and responded to my father "Oh, It's all Christine."

"I should have known."

"Okay hey! Yeah! Don't help me with the luggage, No big deal. I've got this."

My heart sunk and I got up off the kitchen floor, running through the foyer and into the arms of my brother, who had dropped the bags as soon as he seen me coming "Cal!" I buried my face into his chest; tears flowing freely from my face "You're okay!" I pulled away from him and started to inspect every inch.

"Yeah. New leg." He lifted his pant leg up to reveal a fake left leg "I'm getting along just fine. Doctor cleared me a few days before mom and dad were set to leave. Decided I'd come to see you and the little monster." He smiled slightly and rubbed the tops of my arms "Look at _you_ though!"

I laughed and wiped the tears from my eyes "Five months." I shrugged slightly and gave him a shy smile.

"I know what you've been up to—"

"Calvin Reed!" My mother scorned

"—sorry, sorry." He laughed and looked at me, wiggling his eyebrows. I blushed slightly "So, what is it? Niece? Nephew? Alien?"

I laughed and looked at him "Alien."

"Knew it." He winked.

I smiled and looked at him. Cal looked so healthy, so happy and so full of life when just a few months ago he had lost his leg in an IED explosion. It wasn't the worst thing that could happen but I wasn't there for him the same way he wasn't there for me; although we video chatted all the time, it still wasn't the same to me.

"I just finished making Christmas dinner." I smiled and pointed through a separate doorway than where I came from "I was taking a break in the kitchen when I heard you all." I smiled and looked at all of them "I'll take your coats and Emma and Erik can show you into the dining room." I smiled.

Erik shook his head "No, you'll collapse under the weight of all these coats" he laughed and put his hat on the hat rack that rested near the door "I'll do it, you get everything ready."

I laughed and nodded practically skipping back into the kitchen to make a few last minute preparations to the special desert that I had planned for my family.

_

"So, Erik, how's the security business treating you?" Cal shoved a piece of turkey into his mouth and looked over to me "This is literally the best turkey you've ever made." He turned his attention back to erik.

Erik took a drink of his merlot before answering Cal "Well, in America it's booming. Museums, airports, even schools are buying the body scanners." He took another bite and looked around the table "But I think I'll stay in aerodynamics. It's where my true passion lies."

I smiled and nodded "Erik loves to fly." I smiled and took a large bite of my Turkey. My mother looked disgusted, my father seemed unimpressed but Cal enjoyed seeing me stuff my face like I had stuffed the turkey "He takes me on flying trips all the time, when the weather isn't too bad." I smiled "Our housekeeper Mary is very good with Emma. She's a grandma herself and Emma just loves her."

"So Christine…"

I looked in the direction of the voice "Yes, Daddy?"

He wiped at his moustache and placed the napkin down "what are you having? Or are you going to make us wait until you actually have the baby?"

I laughed and looked around "Well, you have to wait for dess—"

"We're all ready for dessert, Chris." Cal looked at me and smiled slightly.

"Okay…" I took another bite of turkey, with some mashed potatoes and a scoop of green beans before I pushed myself out of the chair. I took the napkin out of the top of my dress. It was a gorgeous dress that was empire waisted, with a band of sparkles around the waist and lines going half way down the dress, like a sunburst effect. Emma had the same dress, except in red. But she opted for her Pajamas instead. I grabbed the tray of desserts and walked back into the dining room.

"Pudding? You're serving us pudding?" my brother looked at the two I had placed infront of him.

"it's not the real dessert, there's a delicious pumpkin roll and some delicious French cookie, who's name escapes me." I laughed "okay." I placed the last two in front of Erik "Now, you have to stir them both to get the color. Pink for girl. Blue for boy." I smiled and held the tray behind me, "Stir."

"A girl!" My mother looked up at me and smiled as one of the cups turned pink.

"no.. a boy!" my father exclaimed as one of the cups turned blue.

"Twins!" My brother staired at the two pudding cups in front of him.

Nothing came from the head of the table. My brother; mother; father and I turned our heads to see the slumped over form of Erik. I laughed slightly and made my way over towards Erik "Dear…" I gently shook him "Erik, wake up." I chuckled.

He opened his eyes and searched my face "Twins? Really?"

I laughed and nodded "Yes, really."

He smiled slightly and ran his hands down both sides of his face. "you're completely sure?"

I laughed "one hundred percent. Hold on." I made my way out of the dining room and up into my bedroom where I kept the sonograms hidden in my secret night time candy stash. I looked at them before clutching them tightly to my chest and heading downstairs. "See." I held out a sonogram to Erik "This is the girl. No penis." I pointed out "and this is the boy. Penis." I laughed and pointed again "The boy is Baby A and the Girl is Baby B."

"oh Christine." Erik passed the sonograms around before he turned and placed both hands on my belly, placing his cheek to it "we get both a ballerina and a soccer player."

I laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "This we do."

_

"I really like your hair at this length Christine." My mother took a sip of her warm apple cider and smiled "the brown has come back nicely."

I plopped down on the couch "it's dyed." I yawned and looked up at everyone "Putting Emma to bed on Christmas eve is a chore all in itself." I rubbed the bridge of my nose and looked at my family "it's great that you all are here… really. Espically you cal, I'm so glad you're alright." Tears sprung to my eyes again and I held onto Erik "I'm sorry." I wiped my eyes and stood up walking over to cal "I just love you too much to lose you." I smiled and sat next to him, wrapping my arms around him tightly. "I love all of you too much to lose any of you." Being sappy on Christmas eve? Check.

_

The next morning Emma was up bright and early. She made her way into mine and Erik's room first, promptly jumping on the end of the bed until we both woke up. After she made her rounds to Erik and I, she made her way to her grandparent's room, where her choice to wake them up this time was to scream merry Christmas until they woke up. When she made her way into Uncle Cal's room she disovered that he was missing, which prompted us to have a 'search and find.'

We found Cal downstairs, making his famous Christmas pancakes. They were in the shapes of Christmas trees, snowmen, and he was even skillful enough to make Rudolph and a few other mythical Christmas creatures. He also made eggs, bacon, sasuage, waffles and a lovely bread pudding, which he made just for me.

After breakfast we made our way into the sitting room, which was once again overly decorated with Christmas decorations. The tree had been at least seven to eight feet tall and was elaborately decorated with lights, ribbons and decorations. Something I had found in a French desgining magazine.

Erik got me a lovely necklace for Christmas, along with some new maternity clothes and a new pair of Louboutins—something he said that was an after baby gift but I could wear them around the house because he liked the way they made my butt look. My mother got me a pair of diamond earrings and my father got me a shark plush with the fact that he had adopted a shark at the aquarium here in france, just for me.

Erik received a new Rolex that had been 'from' Emma, A couple of nice suits from Armani, a pair of new pajamas, new shoes both dress and casual and a novelty book of 'love coupons' that I had found funny. He found it charming and planned to use them right away. My mother and father got him an autograph from his favorite person in the world—Stephen hawking.

From Erik and I my mother received a pair of diamond and pearl earrings, a few new handmade sweaters and a picture of Emma, Erik and I at Disneyland Paris, accompanied by Prince Charming and Cinderella. My Father received a few new fishing poles, a bait and tackle box filled to the brim with everything and received a new fishing hat, which was 'from emma'.

My brother received money from Erik for a full four year ride to whatever college he chose. Which to Cal had been the best gift as he was looking to go back into school soon. I gave him a glass container which left a spot for his purple heart to rest. My mother gave him a bunch of things she had collected as a child and my father gave him a new hunting rifle, but stated that it was at home since it was frowned upon to bring guns aboard a plane.

Emma got the most stuff out of us all. Disney princess toys decorated the floor, with dresses for each of the Disney barbies she received. A small Disney couch was received, with a sleeping bag, play shoes, costumes and much, much more.

For Lunch we spent our time in a soup kitchen to help out France's homeless. After we had done that, we came home, snuggled up with each other and watched all our favorite Christmas specials with hot apple cider.

**Authors Note:** _I don't know if you can find out at five months. For the sake of the story. It's five. I've never been pregnant, so I'd never know and quite honestly; didn't want to do the research! Ha._


	23. Future

April, 2013

"Erik!" I called from the bedroom, "Erik!" I quickly grabbed one of the overnight bags and waddled my way downstairs "Erik!" I called again before he popped his now masked face out of the room "it's time!" I called, pain searing through my body; although this was less worse than what I had been through almost a year ago.

"It's- it's time!?" He choked slightly and made his way towards me "You mean..!" he gasped as I wailed out in pain and jumped slightly "oh! Okay! It's time!" He grabbed the bag from me and rushed out to the car. I heard it start and the tires squeal, and I could do nothing but shake my head.

Erik returned for me about ten minutes later, as I was sitting on the edge of the fountain "You're not nervous at all." I looked at him as I breathed my way through another contraction. I had done this by myself before; it wasn't any different from then until now. Except this time I was have two babies, not just one.

"Nervous?" Erik Chuckled as he got into the passenger side of the car. He cursed under his breath and got out, helping me into the passenger side "You go in here. I go over there." He laughed nervously "But no, I'm not nervous at all!"

I laughed, it was at least something to take my mind off these horrible contractions that I was having "No…" I paused, inhaling sharply "not nervous at all." I closed my eyes and lifted myself up off the seat, as if it would help ease the contraction at all "Not to make you nervous" I opened an eye and peeked out at him "But if you could just start driving, that'd be swell."

Erik looked over at me and then nodded slightly, pressing on the gas sending me back down into my seat. I exhaled deeply as the contraction passed and wiped the sweat off my forehead. This was nothing like having Emma. She was in for nine months and out in nine minutes. I secretly wished for the same for the two that wanted their taste of the world, but I knew it wouldn't be that simple.

"how are you feeling Mrs. Holloway?" Erik stroked my hair away from my forehead, placing a soft kiss on my wet forehead.

I smiled and leaned into him "I feel fine. Exhausted, but fine" I smiled and laced his hand in mine.

"Here you two go!" the doctor smiled and handed me two bundles, one in pink the other in blue "We'll have Nancy here follow up. I'll be back in a few hours to check on your progress and the babies. Congratulations to you both." The doctor smiled and made his way out of the room, leaving us with Nurse Nancy.

"What is Baby A's name?" She looked at Erik and I, holding a clipboard with a French birth certificate under its clamp.

"Who was baby A?" I questioned, looking at the two in my arms.

Erik smiled "The boy!"

I laughed and looked down at him "He looks like a Luke, or an Evan." I felt my eyes tear up as I looked up at Erik "I can't choose!" tears slipped down my face and Erik quickly wiped them away.

"How about…" he paused for a second, obviously in deep thought "Evan Luke Holloway?"

I nodded, now in full-fledged tears "Oh! It's perfect!" I looked at the nurse and nodded "That one, we'll go with that one!"

The nurse smiled, or at least I thought she did. I couldn't tell due to my eyes being cloudy with tears "And Baby B?"

"Audrey!" I looked at Erik who smiled sheepishly "I want to name her Audrey. Like after Audrey Hepburn, she was my favorite actress."

I laughed slightly "who would have thought?" I winked and smiled looking down at the baby "Audrey Renee, It's perfect." I looked down at the two babies and smiled "Welcome to the world, Evan. I'm your mommy!" I giggled as he wriggled around in his blanket "And this is your daddy!" I looked at Erik "Go ahead, it's okay to pick him up." He gently took Evan and I smiled "He won't break, I promise." Erik smiled sheepishly at me and I laughed before I turned my attention to the second small baby in my arms "Welcome to the world Audrey!" I stroked one of her soft cheeks and smiled "I'm your mommy too!" I smiled and held her out to Erik, who prepared an arm just for her. I rested her snugly in his arm and laid down, looking at the three of them. How perfect they were.

December 2013

"MOMMY!" I heard a tiny voice call from the grand foyer of the house "MOMMY! COME HERE! QUICK!" My stomach dropped and I quickly put down the frozen turkey and rushed to were my three children sat, or at least two of them sat.

"What?!" I exhaled deeply looking at Emma, who was over joyed with delight.

"Audrey is crawling!" She pointed to the eight month old making her way towards the Christmas tree. A hand rushed to my mouth in awe as I watched her move jerkily. I pulled myself together and grabbed the camera that was thankfully sitting on one of the end tables. I got every moment of Emma's childhood on tape, I wasn't going to not do the same for Audrey and Evan. "Oh! Mommy!" Emma laughed and clapped her hands together "Look at Evan!"

I turned the camera away from the dark haired baby in a Santa dress to the dark haired baby in a Santa suit, who was now following suit of is sister "Oh!" I smiled and followed them diligently with the camera. "Em, your father will kick himself knowing that he was gone long enough to miss this!" I laughed and backed up enough to where I got both Audrey and Evan into the frame at once. "Emma, why don't you grab your brother and sister and I'll take a picture of the three of you by the Christmas tree!" I smiled happily "our first Christmas with the little boogers!"

Emma laughed and bounced towards her siblings "Mommy! They're not boogers! They're babies!"

I laughed and switched the camera over from record to picture "Babies huh? I was unaware!" I giggled and walked over to the three. I fixed Emma's white argyle skirt that matched the deep red velvet long sleeved top that was attached to the dress "Be careful not to get your shoes caught up in your stockings! We don't want them to snag!" I smiled as Emma held two squirming babies on her tiny lap, right infront of the Christmas tree with all the presents "are you ready!"

"ready for what?"

I looked over to my right and smiled at Erik "Ready for a picture, go ahead, get in there you four!" I smiled.

"Sis, how about you and Erik get in there by the little monsters and mom, dad and I will take the picture."

I opened my mouth to protest and then quickly shut it again, knowing it was a war that I wasn't going to win "okay!" I held up my hands in defeat and patted my tummy "I'm not in top shape for pictures yet!"

My brother rolled his eyes "So you have a couple pounds to lose. Chris, you look gorgeous! Now go get in the picture!" he snagged the camera from my hand and gently pushed me toward the Christmas tree. I was dressed in a knee length grey skirt, that flowed when I twirled along with a red Christmas turtle neck with a tiny Christmas tree pin situated on the collar. Erik had on a pair of jeans and a v-cut green sweater along with his black leather jacket, looking very dapper in my opinion.

"I missed you." I looked at him smiling, placing a giggling baby boy in my lap "A lot."

He smiled "I missed you too. More than a lot."

I laughed and leaned over the top of Emma and kissed Erik; which caused the shutter on the camera to move. I pulled away embarrassed, causing Erik to laugh.

"Okay, are you two ready? We can't go around making more babies here! Ya'll have three already! Give the twins time to grow!" I scowled at my brother who once again made the shutter move "Act happy Chrissy! Santa is coming tonight!"

I rolled my eyes and held onto Evan, smiling as Cal took the picture. A beautiful family. A peaceful family and more importantly, a happy family.

**Authors Note**_**:**__ That's that folks! I wanted to end with a Christmas chapter since it is the season (it SHOULD be December 4__th__ when I post this!) I earnestly hope that you all enjoyed it! I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time out of your schedules to read the story and to review the story! It's my most reviewed story of all time, and my second (as I write this) most read story after "to live in love"! Keep an eye out very soon for another Phantom of the Opera story coming to a FanFiction enabled computer near you ;) Until then, keep reading and reviewing! _


	24. First Day as a Daddy (Bonus Chapter)

**Authors Note:** _Hello again! I can almost guarantee that you were not expecting another update from this story again. Forever. Well, I firstly wanted to thank everyone for the reviews still. To the ones who have accounts and to the ones who don't have accounts, you all are so awesome. So why are you getting this fabulous update? Because I wanted to give you a bit of what happened when Erik was alone with Emma for the first time in Erik's POV. At the end I had to change some of the lyrics in Music of the Night, hope you all don't hate me for it. Uhm, I also believe I made Emma two at the writing of this chapter, if she was three then just pretend that Erik didn't know, I mean he is a first time dad ha. Enjoy ;3_

"First thing is first, she's being potty trained so when she wakes up check her Pull up. It shouldn't be wet but if it is, that's okay. Take her to the potty at least twice a hour. If she tells you she doesn't have to go, she normally does have to go. Sit there for as long as you need to." Christine grabbed her purse and made sure things were in it that she needed "She likes a total of four foods; chicken, peas, mashed potatoes and cheese pizza, no desserts, unless it's a graduate yogurt melt. She's also getting a few new teeth in so I normally freeze two rags and give her one to chew on, she gets discomforted easily and children's Tylenol will ease it up. It's in her bag." Christine pointed up stairs "That's in my room." She paused as if she were in thought for a moment "She loves Disney princesses so if you have any of those movies you've bought yourself a few hours to read the paper or do whatever it is that you do. Barney is another favorite and she's scared of Yo Gabba Gabba. Make sure she has her Sippy cup when she takes her naps at twelve and four and when you give her a bath make sure she doesn't get shampoo on her forehead or she'll freak out. At night time she likes to be told a story, make one up if you have to. She also loves to be sung to sleep; she and I both found it peaceful." I watched as Christine threw her purse over her shoulder and chewed on her bottom lip slightly, how I loved it when she did that; it drove me mad. "If you need to get a hold of me, for any reason whatsoever you…" she pulled her cell phone out of her bag, shook it in her hand before throwing it back in the bag when she frowned "you know how to reach me."

I nodded slowly "She likes the park, yes?"

Christine nodded and once again tossed her bag on her arm "Yes, she loves the park."

I nodded slightly before relieving a shaky exhale "Okay, great."

Christine nodded before she turned on her heel and walked out of the door; her butt always did look awesome when she wore heels. I stared after her well until the elevator door had shut and I was sure that she was half way on her way to work when I finally decided to move to the bar stool where my paper sat. I looked at my watch and then back to the door, only 8:15. Twelve more hours.

At about 8:45 I heard the padding of little feet on the top floor and looked over to see the tiny girl slowly coming down the stairs one by one, a teddy bear wrapped in her left arm, her right arm holding onto the metal banisters. I sighed and pushed myself up off the stool and walked up the stairs before she made it to the third step and scooped her up, protecting her.

"Erik..." the little girl with the big brown eyes looked up at me "I'm hungry."

"What would you like?"

She thought for a moment and looked at the white teddy bear before looking back up at me "Pancakes!"

I laughed slightly "Pancakes? Are you sure? Does mommy give you pancakes for breakfast?"

She nodded slowly, her messy hair bouncing all over the place "Yep!"

I nodded and set her down on the couch, pulling a blanket out from underneath, setting in on her tiny lap "Barney?"

"BARNEY!" She stood up on the couch knocking the blanket off the couch and onto the floor before completely jumping up and down.

"Okay! Okay!" I practically whimpered; I was exhausted already and the only thing Emma did was jump up and down on my Italian leather couch, my perfect, pristine couch. I turned on the tv and quickly found a big purple dinosaur which caused Emma to settle down almost immediately. I exhaled deeply and backed away slowly from the couch and into the kitchen. Was nine in the morning too early for a stiff drink?

After pancakes were made and practically mushed into the carpet with last nights mashed potatoes, I took Emma upstairs to get her dressed. I placed the little girl on the tiny bed and turned to her dresser drawer – what did little girls wear?

"Erik." I turned around to look up at the blinking two year old "I went pee pee!" she giggled and stood up off her bed before she went running down the hall. I groaned slightly but thanked myself mentally that I had forgot to check her… diaper? No Christine didn't call it that, it wasn't that important anyway. I caught up with the little girl who was putting her sticky fingers all over the silver handle and white door that connected into my bedroom. I thanked myself for being quick, because lord knows what sort of damage those sticky little syrup covered fingers would have done.

"You should tell me when you need to go pee pee Emma." I threw her over my shoulder and walked back to her bedroom, placing her on the bed once again before I shut the door; there was no way that she was getting out this time.

"I have to go pee pee, Erik." She looked up at me.

"But you just went."

"I really have to go pee pee!" She started jumping on her bed, and started to pull down her diaper-thing.

"okay! Okay!" I picked her up and held her as far away from me as I possibly could, there was no way this child was peeing on me, my child or not.

Once Emma and I made it to the bathroom we sat there for a good hour and a half before she actually went to the bathroom. After that we made our way back into her bedroom and I dressed her in a pair of striped stretchy pants and a Disney princess top, that's what little girls liked right? After that we made our way to the park which had turned into a disaster because she had seen a child with a cast on his leg, and decided that she wanted one too; then it started to rain but she didn't want to leave and ended up getting mud all over her shoes and pants. Once we got in the car, Emma screamed the whole way home about how she wanted to go back to the park, how I was a mean person and how she wanted a new leg like the boy at the park. We got home in time for the thunder and lightning to start which scared Emma and kept her at my side while I made her a macaroni and cheese lunch. After lunch and a quick change back into pajamas, we settled down back on the couch where I made her a cast out of the blanket that was on the floor. She seemed content with it and after an hour of watching the Disney channel she fell right to sleep.

I fell asleep as well.

I woke up to a wet cheek and opened my eyes to see Emma licking it. She ran away giggling before I started to chase her. It wasn't something I was expecting but the chase turned into a horrible game of hide and seek where I had literally lost Emma in the penthouse for two and a half hours. I looked everywhere for her but finally found her buried in the covers on my bed, snoozing away. I took advantage of the opportunity and went to go read the paper, which I had still yet to look at from this morning. I settled down in my office, since it was the closest to my bedroom before I cracked open the paper, but I found my eyelids falling and soon, I was asleep.

I woke up to the sound of something falling down the stairs and both my stomach and heart disappeared. I stood up, pushing the chair behind me so far and so fast that it bumped into the glass window but at the moment my thoughts were on Emma. I slid out into the hallway where I found Emma sitting at the top of the stairs, but decorations that I had bought from India were bouncing down the stairs and shattering into a million pieces on the floor below. I panicked and quickly tore the decoration out of Emma's hand and placed it back on the lower shelf where all the others had sat.

I was one hundred percent sure that this child was the spawn of Satan himself.

I took Emma downstairs and playfully threw her on the couch. She giggled and we started a game to where I'd throw her down, she'd pretend she was hurt, so then I became a doctor and gave her a cast. This lasted about thirty minutes before I was tired of lifting her twenty pound body and tossing it onto the soft padded couch. I met many complaints from Emma before I decided to break down and buy beauty and the beast on pay per view. Once the beginning music started, she calmed down and cuddled up next to me.

I was astonished on how much my relationship with Christine had been like the beast and belles. He held her captive and wasn't that what I was doing with Christine? No, she was free to go anytime she liked, I never told her, because I never wanted her to go, I would be devastated like the time that I had left her. I sighed slightly and rubbed the exposed side of my face. I, like the beast, was a monster, in more ways than one.

After beauty and the beast was over and a few more games of tossing Emma onto the couch was played, I put on the TV and proceeded to order a cheese pizza- there was no way that I was going to cook.

"NOOOO!"

I quickly hung up the phone and made my way into the living room where I found Emma staring at the tv in fright at the orange… thing that danced on the TV. This must have been the show that she was afraid of. Tears slid down her face as she cuddled under the blanket as much as she could and this was of course the time that I went stupid with the remote. After fumbling around and getting new batteries in it, I finally changed it to the next station, which wasn't any better; that 70s show wasn't meant for little two year old girls.

I picked up the little girl who was shaking un-controably. Tears and shaking took over her tiny little body and she clung onto me for dear life. I rocked her back and forth and even took the liberty of bouncing her like she had been a newborn baby. Christine didn't tell me how to comfort her if she happened to watch the show, so I did the best I could. Once the pizza got here I had to set her down, but she stayed latched to my leg, making it awkward to walk.

Dinner went by smoothly. It seemed as if Emma was getting better as she was now smiling and laughing at something I would say, even if it wasn't funny. The word 'hot' made her laugh hysterically, which caused me to chuckle once or twice.

Bath time didn't so as smoothly as dinner had. Soap had gotten onto Emma's forehead causing her to freak out, but I took care of it quickly and put soap on the exposed part of my forehead, prompting her to forget all about the soap that was on hers. After she was washed she started to play, splashing water everywhere. I was sure that by the time she and I got out of the bathroom water covered ninety percent of the room.

I let her pick out her big girl panties and her pajamas and helped her get dressed before I tucked her into bed. I made my way to the door before I heard the tiny voice I had been getting accustomed to the past couple hours.

"Erik?"

I looked over at her, about to turn off the light "Hm..?"

"Story!"

I thought for a moment and sat down on the floor next to her bed, I was positive that if I had sat on it, I'd break the plastic bed in half. I told her the story of how her mother and I met, except instead of Harvard it was a castle, she was a princess and I was a knight; except their story ended differently; happily.

"Song?" she questioned sleepily.

I nodded "Sure thing, jelly bean." I smiled as she busted out into a fit of giggles. "Okay, are you ready?" she nodded as she settled back into her bed, a giggle or two escaping "Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses.." I lowered my voice as the breathing pattern of the child changed. The last time I had sung to anyone was to Christine and it was this song; and I had missed it "_Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it, sense it tremulous and tender. Turn your face away from garish light of day, turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light and listen to the music of the night. Close your eyes and surrender to your nicest dreams, close your eyes let your spirit start to soar_" I shook my head, wrong lyrics, a whole line taken out; it was all wrong but for a child of two, I had to make it appropriate "_And you'll live, as you've never lived before._" I looked down at the child and smiled slightly "_Softly, deftly, music shall caress you. Hear it, feel it, secretly befriend you. Open up your mind let your fantasies unwind in the darkness that you know you cannot fight, the darkness of the music of the night. Let your mind start to journey through a strange new world, leave the thoughts of the life you knew before, let your soul take you where you long to be._" I inhaled sharply and looked down at the child before I moved a piece of hair from her face "_only then can you belong to me. Floating, Falling, sweet intoxication, let the dream begin let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write; the power of the music of the night._" Before I stood up, I kissed the little girl on the forehead and made my way to the door. I shut the light off and looked back over at her "_You alone can make my song take flight, only with the music of the night_." I watched her roll over in her sleep before I shut the door quietly behind me. Making the song child friendly wasn't something I was expecting, but it was nice.

I told Maurice about the sleeping child and for him to keep an eye out on the door if she was to wake up while I took a shower. I desperately needed one. Once the warm water hit my body I was in heaven. My arms were sore from the countless times Emma had wanted me to toss her on the couch; I had created a monstrous game. My legs were tired from chasing Emma around and I was just tired all over. I took off my mask, leaned out of the shower and put it on the back of the toilet. The warm water was a welcome to both sides of my face, the one side that Christine had marred welcomed it to the fullest extent. After my shower I pulled on my favorite pair of sweat pants and my favorite Harvard tee shirt before I made my way downstairs to the smell of Rosemary Chicken.

It sat steaming hot on the counter top with a note from Maurice about supper for Christine and I. Had I been in the shower long enough for Rosemary Chicken to be made? I shrugged and took a plate to the warmer, placing it inside for Christine. I scarfed the meal down; the slice of pizza I had at dinner with Emma didn't cut it and I was thankful for the rosemary chicken.

After I ate my dinner in silence I took the paper and made my way to the couch to enjoy the paper for the first time that day. After I had read the paper I made my way into my office, get something done for the company at least. At about nine thirty I heard the elevator ding and the doors shut casually. Christine was home.

"Act casual." I muttered to myself. The thought that Christine had still came home was gratifying, made me feel like a little boy once again and although I'd never admit it out loud, Christine always gave me butterflies, the kind young girls talk about getting. I stared down at my paper and started writing nonsense on it, just to keep myself distracted as the sound of her ass catching heels clicked up the steps one by one. I lifted my eye up as she walked past my office and into Emma's room. I exhaled and made my move, silently moving to the child's room and positioned myself on the door frame a few times before I settled on a position "She's been asleep for a couple of hours now." She looked at me and made her way out of the room, causing me to shut the door silently "Dinner's in the warmer if you'd like it."

She smiled at me and made her way into the kitchen. I followed like a lost little puppy dog "I'd love it, I'm absolutely starved!" she pulled the pate from the warmer and went to the kitchen table "I don't think I ate at all today." She went back into the kitchen, leaving me alone in the dining room "No." she paused at the door before she made her way to the table "I did." She nodded and I loved the way her hair bounced "I had a granola bar at twelve."

I looked at her "you don't eat much do you?" I chuckled slightly "I remember in college how you'd always raid the snack machine in Theodore Hall claiming they had the best snacks."

She laughed slightly, the sound of it making my heart melt "they did have the best snacks." She took a bite of the chicken and closed her eyes, it was delicious "Remember that time when we were in speech that…" she laughed slightly "That Raoul fell down the lecture hall stairs and blamed you?"

I took the opportunity of her looking at her plate to scowl. He was a fop, a foolish little boy "Well, he shouldn't have tried to kiss you."

I cursed to myself as we both fell silent but Christine decided to break the silence first "do you think.." she exhaled, obviously a bit nervous "that things would have turned out a bit differently if I didn't become pregnant? Or if I had told you the news in absolute private? Where no one could hear, you know?"

I exhaled and after a while I spoke "I think things would have turned out much differently if you didn't become pregnant, yes. I don't think your eyes would light up the way they do each time you see Emma. I don't think they'd sparkle every time she did something cute or handed you a toy to play with. I think you'd be even more engrossed in your work than you already are and I think you'd be lost." The same way I had been lost without her.

"well," she smiled and looked up at me "It's a good thing that I have a great sense of direction" She smiled at me before she took a bite of the cheesy mashed potatoes "How were things with Emma today?"

I thought for a moment. They were dreadful, awful, tear filled and most importantly they were perfectly imperfect in my almost perfect life. "Well, she woke up not too long after you left. I fed her breakfast and" I pointed to a spot where a pancake had landed "she threw a pancake." I furrowed my eyebrows in annoyance "but after that we watched barney and went to the park. She saw a kid with a cast on his leg and she wanted one so we came home and made a cast out of her blanket." I thought it would be best to completely leave out the whole game of tossing Emma onto the couch. Emma loved it, Christine probably wouldn't have. "She went to sleep watching the Disney channel, both naps" minus the nap that I had actually lost my daughter in my house "we had a pretty smooth dinner and bath time" I leaned back in the chair and crossed a leg "I told her a story" and I had sang her a song "and she fell right to sleep. It was pretty easy day." I lied once again.

She smiled that fabulous smile and pushed her empty plate away "So first day as daddy went smoother than expected?"

I sighed and rubbed the exposed side of my face "She doesn't know who I am , does she?"

She looked at me confused "What do you mean?"

I sighed again and looked up at her, tiredly rubbing the exposed side of my face once again "She never once called me daddy. You never told her about me?"

Christine rested a hand on top of mine and it made my heart pound harder "Of course I did Erik! I told her everything I knew about you! It's just she doesn't recognize you, not with that mask on your face." She rubbed her thumb on top of my hand, the same way I used to do to her "give her time, she'll come around."

I sighed slightly and went to bed that night, hoping both of my girls would come around; I was so lonely.


End file.
